Guyana Times -- Thursday, March 3, 2022

Christians observe Ash Wednesday – the P12 beginning of Lent Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 4937

THE BEACON OF TRUTH THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

President Ali’s agri plan a comprehensive one for food security – Caricom Chairman See story on page 3

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Tomb raiders break into P18 tomb at Buxton burial ground

Well-known drug mule, 1 other busted with P18 cocaine pellets

Dental asst wife found dead after misunderstanding with husband

– husband taken into custody P10

...says Guyana’s presentation was highlight of Heads of Govt meeting Chairman of Caricom, Prime Minister John Briceño and President Irfaan Ali share a light moment on day two of the 33rd Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom in Belize

PPP/C will leave no stone unturned to build free, equitable, globally...as Party celebrates 2nd anniversary competitive society of being elected to office CARPHA confirms Industrialisation presence of on ECD corridor Omicron variant will create over in Guyana 4000 jobs – VP Jagdeo – 2 Region 4 pensioners succumb to COVID Page 7

Page 11

Mohamed’s Enterprise P13 donates cars to 4 taxi drivers

Guyanese P8 man among 2 extradited to US to face sexual offence charges

See stories on pages 5 & 10

Fmr PNC MP Dunstan Barrow nominated ...as Opposition storms for NRF Board out of Committee meeting See story on page 15

Rose Hall Town CIIP workers yet to receive P16 salaries

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THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS OPENINGS BRIDGE

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Thursday, March 3 – 17:05h-18:35h and Friday, March 4 – 05:20h-06:50h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Thursday, March 3 – 03:30h-05:00h and Friday, March 4 – 04:00h-05:30h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

Parika and Supenaam departure times – 05:00h, 10:00h-12:00h, 16:00h, 18:30h daily

WEATHER TODAY

Light rain showers are expected during the day and night with instances of thunder. Temperatures should range between 23 degrees Celsius and 28 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Northerly to East North-Easterly between 1.78 metres and 3.57 metres.

High Tide: 17:23h reaching a maximum height of 2.78 metres.

President Ali’s agri plan a comprehensive one for food security – Caricom Chairman …says Guyana’s presentation was highlight of Heads of Govt meeting

be made available to all and that it foresaw a $6 billion food market in Caricom that, if captured, could create opportunities for member states.

By Jarryl Bryan

P

resident Dr Irfaan Ali’s presentation on sustainable food security and agriculture was described by Caribbean Community (Caricom) Chairman and Belize Prime Minister John Briceño as a comprehensive presentation that was one of the highlights of the 33rd InterSessional Meeting.

During the final press conference on day two of the meeting, Briceño’s opening comments zeroed in on President Ali’s presentation, and he lauded the efforts of the Guyanese

Trade

President Dr Irfaan Ali in Belize on Tuesday

Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government here in Belize… for sure, our deliberations have been en-

Low Tide: 10:57h and 23:17h reaching minimum heights of 0.48 metre and 0.46 metre.

Secretary General of the Caribbean Community, Dr Carla Natalie Barnett and President Ali

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2022

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DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902

COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Change %

Crude Oil

$116.90/barrel

+3.52

Rough Rice

$291.384/ton

- 0.37

London Sugar

$515.20/ton

- 0.02

Live Spot Gold

USD Per Ounce

Bid/Ask

$1928.10

$1929.10

Low/High Change

$1914.40 - 0.60

$1949.40 - 0.03%

Head of State and team, which included Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, the current Chairman of the Caricom Special Ministerial Task Force on Food Production and Food Security.

“We’ve come to the end of this 33rd Inter-Sessional

riched by our physical presence,” Briceño said.

“One of the highlights of the meeting was the important and stimulating presentations by President Ali of Guyana, who laid out a comprehensive plan for the development of the agri-food sector that was embraced by all. I congratulate President

Ali and his team for their excellent work.”

According to Briceño, the study done by President Ali and his team served to show the challenges faced by different countries in the Region when it comes to food security, as well as the products each one could grow and supply, and a path towards sustainable food security.

Among the findings was that countries outside of Caricom were the source for 98.8 per cent of poultry imports in the Region in 2020 – a needless diversion of regional finance.

“For instance, we import poultry. There’s no need for us to be importing poultry, or some of the greens, like corn. The different meats.

All of that can be grown here in the Caribbean… one of the ideas that [Barbados] Prime Minister [Mia] Mottley brought up, which is about the industrialisation working group policy,” Briceño said. “(This) is because there are a lot of products that we can grow, but we’re not adding value to them. As opposed to selling the raw programme,” he said, adding that Guyana’s study could

Briceño was asked about the barriers to trade, particularly the trepidation that countries in the Region have for locally-grown products and a preference for foreign imported goods. Standards such as phytosanitary standards have repeatedly been used to block imports from countries in the Region, including Guyana. According to the Chairman, a commitment was made to increase trade integration among Caricom.

In addition, PM Mottley also praised President Ali for the efforts he has made to advance food security in the Region, from addressing trade barriers to crop insurance for farmers.

This, she noted, is especially significant since this was all planned out during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mottley also noted that an investment conference would be rolled out in Guyana in May, which was a necessary prerequisite for advancing on many of the decisions coming out of the Heads of Government meeting.

These decisions include the whopping US$110 million financing for Caricom States with the aim of reducing food imports by 25 per cent by 2025. The Prime Minister was also hopeful that the Private Sector players themselves would step up to the plate.

TURN TO PAGE 5

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guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

Views Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230, 223-7231, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, marketing@guyanatimesgy.com

Drug treatment and justice system

W

ith the support of various stakeholders, Guyana commissioned a drug treatment court in 2019 to cater for rehabilitation of drug offenders, providing them with an opportunity to fix their lives and return to the state where they can again be valuable members of their communities.

The court, commissioned in October 2019, features a drug treatment team that includes magistrates, state counsels, a Legal Aid attorney, and a probation officer. With this court in place, offenders now get to choose to either do community service or enter a drug rehabilitation programme. The participants first have to sign an agreement which binds them to follow certain rules, including regular attendance at the programme and submitting to random drug testing etc.

Once an offender goes to the court, and the offender pleads guilty or is found guilty by the magistrate, that offender is provided with the option to accept a custodial sentence or to enter a treatment programme which the drug court provides, as an alternative to incarceration.

The programme provides treatment tailored to the needs of the participants, who would work alongside key organisations to ensure the success of the programme.

Some of the key interventions would be educational sessions, one-to-one counselling, group counselling, treatment recovery plan, reintegration, post-graduation plans.

Court-supervised treatment of certain types of drugdependent offenders as an alternative to incarceration is a concept that has proven its value across different cultures as a means of reducing crime, reducing repeat offences, reducing relapse into drug use, and reducing the prison population. Jamaica recognised this in 1999 with the passage of the Drug Court (Treatment and Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act and the establishment of two drug treatment courts in the country, measures which have proven to be effective.

Drug dependence is partly regarded as a disease, and should be treated as such. Treatment of the disease is important, since leaving it untreated almost guarantees that the drug-dependent person would relapse into drug use. Further, not only would it result in the drugdependent offenders re-offending, but it would certainly lead them to commit other crimes in order to feed their drug habits.

In many Caribbean territories, especially Guyana, there is a high proportion of prisoners who have been incarcerated for drug-related crimes. While it is still difficult to quantify the drugs/crime relationship, there is sufficient evidence to connect drug users to crime and lack of citizen security.

It is well known that the cost of drug abuse and related problems to our society is very significant. These costs lie in law enforcement actions against drug traffickers and street dealers. The costs to the health and welfare systems are also believed to be very high, as various studies on the subject have shown that drug abuse places significant additional strains on already overburdened health care systems.

Many experts have concluded that jailing offenders does not help them in any way, but rather pushes them to graduate into “bigger things”.

It should be mentioned that the heart of success of drug treatment courts is the combination of treatment with judicial supervision and oversight. Without treatment, there is no drug treatment court. And without the power of the bench, the offender’s adherence to an often-lengthy course of drug treatment would probably be much harder. Drug treatment and the justice system therefore go hand-in-hand.

We are not saying that drug treatment courts are the magic bullet that would help all drug-dependent offenders, but that this approach certainly offers a way out of the cycle of drugs and crime. It is one sure way of addressing drug addiction and crime in our communities, as this system would provide rehabilitative services to offenders rather than have them incarcerated, which does not help in any way.

President Dr Irfaan Ali and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley are seen here in discussion on the second day of the 33rd InterSessional Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize

Might makes not right, unjust wars are doomed to be lost

A

t this dark hour, when we see Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine, and massive disinformation campaigns and information manipulation, it is essential to separate lies -- invented to justify what cannot be justified -from facts. The facts are that Russia, a major nuclear power, has attacked and invaded a peaceful and democratic neighbouring country, which posed no threat to it, nor provoked it. Moreover, President Putin is threatening reprisals on any other state that may come to the rescue of the people of Ukraine. Such use of force and coercion has no place in the 21st century.

What President Putin is doing is not only a grave violation of international law, it is a violation of the basic principles of human co-existence.

With his choice to bring war back to Europe, we see the return of the “law of the jungle”, wherein might makes right.

The target is not only Ukraine, but the security of Europe and the whole international rulesbased order, based on the UN system and international law.

His aggression is taking innocent lives, and crushing people’s wish to live in peace.

Civilian targets are being struck, clearly violating international humanitarian law, forcing people to flee. We see a humanitarian catastrophe developing. For months, we pursued unparalleled efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution.

But Putin lied to the faces of all who met him, pretending to be interested in a peaceful solution. Instead, he opted for a full-scale invasion, a fully-fledged war.

Russia must cease its military operations immediately, and must unconditionally withdraw from the entire territory of Ukraine. The same goes for Belarus, which has to immediately stop its involvement in this aggression, and respect its international obligations.

The European Union is united in offering its strong support to Ukraine and its people. This is a matter of life and death. I am preparing an emergency package to support the Ukrainian armed forces in their fight.

The international community will now, in response, opt for full-scale isolation of Russia, to hold President Putin accountable for this aggression. We are sanctioning those who finance the war, crippling the Russian banking system and its access to international reserves.

The EU and its partners have already imposed on Russia massive sanctions that target its leaders and elites, and strategic sectors of the Kremlin-run economy.

The aim is not to harm the Russian people, but to weaken the Kremlin’s ability to finance this unjust war. In doing this, we are closely aligned with our partners and allies – the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and Australia. We also see many countries from around the world rallying to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, including our friends in Guyana.

We value Guyana’s principled position, as expressed in its strong statement condemning the invasion last week.

Working together, we are

stronger, and our efforts will be more successful.

We stand together on the right side of history in the face of Russia’s horrifying attack on a free and sovereign country.

To justify its crimes, the Kremlin and its supporters have engaged in a massive disinformation campaign, which was already started weeks ago. We have seen Russian state media and their ecosystem peddling untruths in social media networks with the aim to deceive and manipulate. The Western Balkans as well have been targeted by the Kremlin’s disinformation operations for far too long, and know how to detect, when being exposed to, information manipulation.

The Kremlin propagandists call the invasion “a special operation”, but this cynical euphemism cannot hide the fact that we witness a fully-fledged invasion of Ukraine with the aim to crush its freedom, legitimate Government, and democratic structures.

Calling the Kyiv Government “neo-Nazi” and “Russophobic” is nonsense: all manifestations of Nazism are banned in Ukraine. In modern Ukraine, extreme right-wing candidates are a fringe phenomenon with minimal support, without passing the barrier to enter the Parliament. The Ukrainian Government did not cut the Donbass off, and it has not prohibited the use of Russian language and culture. Donetsk and Luhansk are no republics, they are Ukrainian regions controlled

by Russia-backed- and-armed separatist groupings.

We know this - and many

Russians know this. There have been courageous protests in cities across Russia since the invasion started, demanding the end of the aggression against a peaceful neighbouring nation. We hear their voices, and recognise their courage in speaking out, and we also see many prominent public figures in Russia protesting this senseless invasion.

I continue to work with our partners around the world to ensure the joint action of the international community against the Kremlin’s behaviour. On 25th February, only Russia vetoed a UN Security Council Resolution on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine; with China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining. From all over the world, countries condemn Russia’s attacks, and at the General Assembly, the entire international community needs to join forces and help to end Russia’s military aggression by adopting the related UN Resolution. We particularly thank Albania as co-penholder of the resolution.

With this war on Ukraine, the world will never be the same again. It is now, more than ever, the time for societies and alliances to come together to build our future on trust, justice and freedom. It is the moment to stand up and to speak out. Might do not make right. Never did.

Never will.

Josep Borrell High Representative and Vice President of the European Commission

guyanatimesgy.com

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THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

News

2 Region 4 pensioners succumb to COVID – 25 new infections detected

G

uyana’s COVID-19 death toll further increased after two more persons who tested positive for the novel coronavirus died.

The latest fatalities were an 86-year-old female, who died on Tuesday, and an 83-year-old male who died on Wednesday. They were both from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) and were fully vaccinated at the time of their deaths.

Consequently, the total number of deaths from the virus in Guyana has gone up to 1222.

Meanwhile, 25 more persons have tested positive for COVID-19 within a 24-hour period, which takes the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 62,971, according to the Health Ministry’s updated COVID-19 dashboard on Wednesday.

Active cases in the country are now at 422, including eight patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Of the remaining cases, 25 are in institutional isolation and 389 in home isolation.

On Wednesday, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony disclosed that communities in Georgetown as well as along the East Bank and East Coast of Demerara con-

tinue to be the hotspots for active cases.

“For the first time in several months, active cases in Region Four have been down to 144 cases so that’s really positive,” he noted.

The second-highest number of cases are in Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara), which currently has 83 cases.

“So, I think, by and large, the numbers are coming down,” the Minister stated.

Moreover, there are currently 33 persons hospitalised across the country, while another 15 are in institutional quarantine.

So far, some 61, 327 persons have recovered from the life-threatening disease – 60 more than the figure reported the previous day.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country, approximately 541,736 persons have been tested so far and of this number, some 28,986 males and 33,985 females were found to be positive.

Of the 25 new cases reported on Wednesday, three were from Region One (Barima-Waini), another three from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), one from Region Three, 10 from Demerara-Mahaica, one from Region Five (Mahaica-

Berbice), four from Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and the remaining three cases from Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

There were no new cases recorded in Regions Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) within the 24-hour period.

This apparent decline in COVID-19 cases comes on the heels of widespread surges in infections beginning in late December up until recent weeks. The spikes were attributed to the Omicron variant, which though not as deadly as the Delta variant is highly transmissible.

Health authorities have been encouraging persons to get vaccinated, and those who qualify to get their booster shots, in order to add a layer of protection against the virus.

The latest figures show that so far, 432,821 adults or 84.4 per cent have taken a coronavirus vaccine first dose and of that number, some 328,954 or 64.1 per cent are fully vaccinated.

For adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17, approximately 33,602 or 46.1 per cent have received their first dose, while some 24,293 or 33.3 per cent of them are fully immunised.

GUYANA COVID-19 DASHBOARD MARCH 2, 2022 UPDATE

NUMBER OF NEW CASES

25

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION

25

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN HOME ISOLATION

389

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN COVID-19 ICU

8

NUMBER OF PERSONS IN INSTITUTIONAL QUARANTINE

15

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (FEMALES)

33,985

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES BY GENDER (MALES)

28,986

TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES IN GUYANA SINCE 2020

62,971

NUMBER OF RECOVERED CASES

61,327

REGION 1

2513

REGION 2

2469

REGION 3

8025

REGION 4

31,121

REGION 5

2365

REGION 6

5712

REGION 7

2418

REGION 8

887

REGION 9

3996

REGION 10

3465

HERE IS HOW YOU CAN BE SAFE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Wear a face mask.

TOTAL 1st DOSE VACCINATED

432,381

FULLY IMMUNISED

328,273

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS

DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES SINCE MARCH 2020

1222

Keep a physical distance of at least 6 feet.

Wash your hands or use handsanitizer If you have any symptoms, call the COVID-19 Hotline.

GET MEDICAL ADVICE ON COVID-19 FROM MOH 24/7 HOTLINE NUMBERS: 2311166; 226 7480; 624 6674; 624 2819; 624 3067 OR 180/181.

So far, an estimated 51,125 persons have returned for their booster shots.

As more people continue to get vaccinated, authorities are urging the public to continue observing all COVID-19 preventative measures, particularly

President Ali’s agri plan...

masking in public, social distancing and frequent hand washing and sanitising – which are more significant now given the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), some 437,333,859 confirmed

cases were reported globally along with 5,960,972 deaths.

In the Region of the Americas, that is, Latin America and the Caribbean, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased to 147,068,499 while the death toll has gone up to 2,628,760.

hard times, then we should share the burden in good times too. And that is what we understand with Guyana and all the other countries that want to introduce local content...”

President Ali was joined

by Agriculture Minister

Mustapha, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Hugh Todd, Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud, and other Government officials, during the two-day conference in Ambergris Caye, Belize.

FROM PAGE 3

“The investment conference carded for May 19 to May 21 in Georgetown, Guyana… this is a necessary prerequisite to us going forward, because, without money, we won’t have the ability to help the farmers.

The money from Republic Bank is effectively being offered to Governments to help farmers. And in some instances, it will be Stateled and, in some instances, it will be Private Sectorled,” she said.

Local content

Meanwhile, the Heads of Government were asked about local content and whether it was discussed during the meeting. This is particularly relevant in the context of the Caribbean Private Sector Organisation (CPSO) and the issues it has raised with Guyana’s Local Content Act passed last year. According to Mottley, this is an issue that will indeed be looked into.

“Within the context of Caricom Single Market and Economy, we placed before Heads and Heads accepted, that there is need for us to review the issue of local content. And there is an open-ended committee of member states that will start to work very shortly, recognising that new areas of economic activities, what we call sunrise industries, there may well be and I certainly support, that there is

a case for some level of local content.”

“And the issue will be what that percentage of local content will be and what is the timeline it should be valid for. Because if you’re giving it to a sunrise industry, then you don’t need it 30 years from now,” she said.

According to the Prime

Minister, once these discussions are had, they will be in a better position to make recommendations to the full Conference of Heads of Government. As she put it, if countries share the burden in hard times, then they must also share it in good times too.

“So, we’re going to do

the discussions among ourselves, with a view towards recommending to the full Conference of Heads, what the appropriate framework should be, such that no one will be held in breach for wanting to do that which is most natural.

“Because if we accept that we share the burden in

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THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

Page

Foundation ◄

Prime and Composite Numbers

A

prime number is a whole number that cannot be divided exactly by other whole numbers except itself and 1. That is the same as saying prime numbers cannot be made by multiplying other whole numbers.

Example: 5 is a prime number.

We cannot multiply other whole numbers like 2, 3 or 4 together to make 5.

5 can only be divided by 5 or 1 without leaving a remainder.

Example: 6 is a composite number 6 can be made by 2×3 so it is not a prime number, it is a composite number 6 can be divided exactly by 2, or by 3: Example: 7 is a prime number.

We cannot multiply other whole numbers like 2, 3 or 4 together to make 7.

7 cannot be divided up exactly: When a number can be divided up exactly it is a composite number When a number cannot be divided up exactly it is a prime number So 6 is composite, but 7 is prime

By Hugh Sam

Water in the air

I air.

n this fun and easy science experiment, we’re going to explore and investigate weather by learning about water in the

Materials:

Empty tin can with the label removed Food colouring Ice cubes Water

Instructions:

Exercises:

List the prime numbers between 1 and 100.

Wednesday’s answers Cost Price (CP) = $10.50 Selling Price (SP) = $12 The SP is greater than the CP therefore a profit (gain) was made Profit = SP – CP Profit = $12.00 – $10.50 = $1.50 Cost Price (CP) = $570 Selling Price (SP) = $350 The CP is greater than the SP therefore a loss was made Loss = CP – SP Loss = $570 – $350 = $20

Fill the can with ice cubes.

Now add a drop of food colouring and then fill the rest of the can with water.

After five to ten minutes, water droplets will begin forming on the side of the can.

The drops are not coloured so they could not be leaking from the can.

How it works:

Water vapor in the air around the can has been cooled by the ice. Air molecules slow down when they become cold and move closer together and change into liquid form.

Make this a science project:

Try this experiment with hot water. Try this experiment with a glass jar. Try adding salt to the water. (sciencefun.org)

White sailed schooners dreaming up the river, White winged seagulls curving in their pride, Blunt nosed timber barges threaded like a bracelet Strung behind a small tug struggling ‘gainst the tide.

Brown flows the Demerara, mud brown and tea brown, Brown are the mud banks where the mangroves sprawl, Proud are the white sails, red sails, grey sails, From wing-tailed fishing boat to schooner tall.

Kings of the river are the bauxite steamers, Down and up the river with the ebb and flow, Queens of the river are the grave white liners Anchored by the roadway with the town below.

Wide is the mouth of the brown Demerara, Gracious are the small ships winged for the breeze, Fishing ships and trade ships and passengers from far lands, Homing up the river or out across the seas.

“The noblest question in the world is: What good may I do in it?” – Benjamin Franklin

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

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THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

PPP/C will leave no stone unturned to build free, equitable, globally-competitive society – as Party celebrates 2nd anniversary of being elected to office

I

t has been two years since the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections which, despite being marred by a political deadlock for five months, saw the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) winning the confidence of the electorate and according to the Party, it will continue to work assiduously to ensure its election promises are fulfilled.

“Since taking up its mandate, the PPP/C has been working tirelessly to incrementally fulfil its manifesto promises in the execution of a transformational agenda that will build a multi-dimensional economy and elevate the country onto a rapid development path and create opportunities for the empowerment of all Guyanese,” the Party said in a statement on Wednesday to mark the second anniversary of its re-election to office.

According to the Party, it embraces the Government’s transformational agenda, its efforts to diversify the economy and reinvigorate

the health, education, and private sectors and support the vulnerable. These initiatives, it noted, are in keeping with its 2020 campaign slogan of “One Country, One People, One Future” and will undoubtedly lead to the realisation of President Dr Irfaan Ali’s vision of an economically and socially empowered “One Guyana”.

“Guyanese are further assured on this anniversary that the Government and the party will leave no stone unturned in building a free, equitable, prosperous, socially-just, and globally-competitive society,” the missive detailed.

The statement also reassured citizens of the PPP/C Government’s unwavering commitment to upholding the sanctity of the Guyanese Constitution and the enshrined provisions of democratic processes for governance and rule of law.

It reminded of the attempt by the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) to rig the March 2, 2020

elections. The Party said it was through the intense struggle by its members and other forces – including other political parties; Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs); international and regional observers with the support of the international community – that democracy prevailed.

Now two years since it was returned to office through a “free and fair democratic process”, the PPP/C expressed its gratitude for the overwhelming expression of confidence from the Guyanese electorate.

“The Party takes this opportunity on the second anniversary of the March 2nd elections to thank those who have given us the mandate to govern through their votes, our loyal members and supporters at home and abroad, and those who fought alongside us during the five-month struggle to uphold democracy. We also thank those who are working now tirelessly in the Government and elsewhere in our country to strengthen democracy and support our transformational agenda,” it added.

Following the close of polls on March 2, 2020, the original counting of the ballots cast had proceeded smoothly and had been completed in nine regions with the PPP/C in a commanding lead.

However, the tabulation of Statements of Poll

(SoPs) was interrupted in District Four (DemeraraMahaica, which is the country’s largest voting district) after then Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo switched from the legal procedure – which ensures transparency – whereby each SoP had to be exhibited to the stakeholders present to enable comparison to their copies.

However, Mingo diverted to a procedure where the purported numbers from the SoPs were incorporated into a consolidated spreadsheet.

This led to immediate calls for transparency from both local and international observers.

After recourse to the High Court, all the parties except the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition protested the

sleight of hand that facilitated inflation of the votes for that party.

Following a High Court’s decision, Mingo was ordered to revert to the prescribed procedure, but he repeated his subterfuge in another guise and submitted totals that varied substantially from those of other parties and had the APNU/ AFC ahead rather than the PPP/C. The Chairwoman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Retired Justice Claudette Singh agreed to a recount of all the votes, which had been proposed by then caretaker President David Granger and agreed to by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo after an intervention by several Caricom leaders.

Both leaders had recom-

mitted to accepting the results of the recount, which had uncovered blatant attempts by some senior GECOM officials to inflate votes in favour of the coalition regime during the initial count.

Nevertheless, final figures from the recount showed that the PPP/C won the March 2 General Elections with 233,336 votes cast in its favour.

The APNU/AFC secured 217,920 votes.

Since then, GECOM has fired its Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield; his deputy, Roxanne Myers, and Mingo – who are all currently before the courts facing electoral fraud charges.

Some other officials within the Elections Commission’s Secretariat were also removed.

8 NEWS

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Guyanese man among 2 extradited to US to face sexual offence charges

T

wo fugitives who are wanted for sex crimes in the United States have been extradited, the US Embassy in Georgetown said on Wednesday.

On February 25, Julian Yhip and Kareem Hack, who had been hiding out in Guyana for years, were extradited to the US to faces charges on separate sexual offences.

Hack was arrested in Berbice, while Yhip was nabbed in Georgetown.

The US Embassy in Georgetown reported that the men were located, tracked, and arrested, thanks to a joint endeavour involving the Embassy, Home Affairs Ministry , Director of Public Prosecutions, Guyana Police Force, US Department of Justice, United States Marshal Service, and the Diplomatic Security Service.

Yhip, a Guyanese national, will face charges in Pennsylvania for rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, and sexual as-

Extradited: Kareem Hack and Julian Yhip

sault committed in 2017.

Hack, a United States citizen, is facing charges in Florida for sexual battery, procuring a person under 18 for prostitution, and attempting to commit sexual battery in 2006.

Hack was previously featured on America’s Most Wanted in October 2008. In August 2021, the United States Government made a formal request for the extradition of Hack and Yhip, and they were arrested and placed before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts in early February 2022. The two did not contest the charges and were subsequently extradited.

This is the fourth extradition of US fugitives from Guyana to the United States in the last 25 years. The extradition of the two fugitives strengthens the rule of law in Guyana and reflects the strong professional law enforcement and judicial cooperation between the United States and Guyana.

Sophia man gets 24 months for stealing Magistrate’s cellphone

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Sophia, Greater Georgetown man has been sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment for stealing a Magistrate’s cellular phone.

Omawalie Caesar, called “Wallie”, 46, was on trial for the offence of simple larceny before Magistrate Dylon Bess at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

He had initially denied the charge which stated that on November 23, 2021,

at Battery Road, Kingston, Georgetown while in the company of others, he stole a Samsung Galaxy Note9 valued at $200,000, property of Magistrate Leron Daly.

Following a trial on Wednesday, he was found guilty as charged by Magistrate Bess.

Guyana Times understands that on the day in question, Magistrate Daly parked her car along Battery Road, Kingston, and went

about her business.

Upon her return, she discovered that her car had been broken into and her cellphone missing. She thereafter filed a report with the Police.

During investigations, Police ranks reviewed CCTV footage from the area in which they observed Caesar breaking into the Magistrate’s car and making off with the judicial officer’s phone. As such, he was

Jailed: Omawalie Caesar

arrested and charged.

Caesar was previously charged with a similar offence, and that matter is ongoing at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court.

223-7230-1 (Ext 55)

Republican...

T

…co-op socialist failure he war up in Europe has - not surprisingly commandeered our conversations. And as your Eyewitness has been pointing out, why not? If nothing else, it should remind us who really matter to the movers and shakers in the world. But life goes on, and we still have our challenges to deal with, no? So it’s been just over a week since we celebrated the 52nd anniversary of us becoming a Republic. Have you, dear reader, been mulling over what that means?

Your Eyewitness has been doing his bit. After all, it had to’ve meant SOMETHING to Burnham, who not only made us a republic, but a COOPERATIVE republic in 1970!! Have you ever wondered what in the world that means? You should, since our Constitution - the Supreme Law of the land - still declares that’s what we are!! Burnham insisted that the primary characteristic of our people - African, Indian, and Amerindian-Guyanese - was that we simply oozed the “cooperative spirit”.

Now, your Eyewitness doesn’t know where he got that idea from, since whatever we did before independence was at the behest of Europeans, who used whips and chains to get their work done. They sure didn’t depend on any cooperative spirit discerned by Burnham!! It appears that Burnham might’ve really gotten the idea from Nyerere of Tanzania, who insisted the sentiment was immanent in the Tanzanian people. Since most of OUR enslaved Africans were dragged from West Africa, and Tanzania’s across the continent in East Africa, one wonders how the cooperative drive was transferred. For the Indians and Amerindians here - as far as your Eyewitness could find out - they were pretty individualistic in their work habits.

But Burnham opened up an additional can of worms when he declared we weren’t just “cooperative”, but we were “socialist” - a “cooperative Socialist Republic”. Jagan immediately looked at cooperatives from within the socialist dogmas, and, quoting the founding father Marx, declared cooperatives to be “utopian”. Can’t work!! Just spinning cobwebs! But that didn’t faze Burnham. He nationalised 80% of the businesses in the country, and ran them through “cooperative management”. Meaning that managers had to consult “Workers Councils” in addition to the unions when running the business that were now “owned and operated by the people of Guyana”. All of them were run into the ground.

The cooperative republic would also make the “small man a real man” - presumably by taking care of his economic needs - which all good socialists see as foundational. At the macro level, there was a 1972 four-year plan to “Feed, House and Clothe the Nation” through new institutions formed to organise the people.

By 1976, the people were hungry, homeless, and naked!!

But Burnham’s still a hero to PNCites! …future The PNC had formed cooperatives to run small enterprises in all fields of national life - farming, fishing, retailing etc. They were even assisted by Co-Op Banks, CoOp Insurance Companies, Co-Op Marketing, and so on. And they all failed!! The co-ops for the small man may or may not have been “utopian”, as Jagan claimed – not that his communist proletarian dictatorship didn't also face the same charge and fate! – but they fared no better than the big nationalised businesses!

Some in the Leaderless Opposition are now all excited about some throwaway comments made in the latest USAID Report on our Republic. They swear that no one less than US President Joe Biden’s telling the PPP Government there MUST be “shared governance” and “shared economy”. Or else!! And they’re oh so happy about the tea leaves they’ve read!!

Never mind they’d cussed out the USA “stink and dutty” after they accused them of interning in our sovereign affairs and “installing” the PPP into Government!

Ain’t the logic of politics wonderful?? …changes Nowadays, neither Burnham’s disciples in the PNC nor Jagan’s in the PPP will have any truck with cooperatives or socialism.

So, you’d think it’s time we remove the “co-operative socialist” tag from our Constitution?

The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Guyana Times’ editorial policy and stance

Readers are invited to send their comments by email to eye@guyanatimesgy.com

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2 years after elections

GECOM remains deeply polarised – Gunraj

– says he’s worried about future of Commission

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t is two years to the day when Guyanese went to the polls in what would become a five-month-long fight for democracy. Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Commissioner Sase Gunraj, who played an integral part during that fight, is now worried about the future of the Commission due to its deeply polarised atmosphere.

Guyana Times solicited a comment from Gunraj on the occasion of the two-year anniversary of the March 2 General and Regional Elections of 2020. And the Commissioner admitted that GECOM has not acted with the alacrity it should when it comes to issues like a voters’ list. This is considering the fact that Local Government Elections (LGE), originally scheduled to be held in 2021, have been pushed back to 2022.

He also admitted that the GECOM Commission is polarised. Besides Gunraj, the other People’s Progressive Party-nominated commissioners are Bibi Shadick and Manoj Narayan.

Meanwhile, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Changenominated Commissioners are Charles Corbin, Vincent Alexander and Desmond Trotman. The APNU/AFC side of the Commission has a well-established record of walking out of meetings during discussions on critical matters, or not even

GECOM Commissioner Sase Gunraj

showing up. This publication reported these occurrences last year, during discussions on filling important vacancies at GECOM. According to Gunraj, he wonders about the future of the Commission.

“It is no secret that the Commission is now a fractured body. When I went to the Commission, you could expect meaningful discussion and agreement.

Unfortunately, you cannot even expect meaningful discussions, much less agreements. And sometimes I wonder about the Commission’s future in light of some of the postures of the Commission,” he said.

When it comes to previous recommendations from international partners, that the configuration of GECOM

Commission should be less “political”, Gunraj noted that while all the Commissioners were nominated by political parties, he has always made decisions that were grounded in principles and law.

Moreover, Gunraj was of the view that for such a role at GECOM, it would be difficult to find civil society persons who have no ties to any political party. Moreover, he gave the example of other Commissions against which accusations of political bias are made regardless of who is appointed.

“So, I don’t see any great value in changing the composition of the personnel.

But it requires personnel in the Secretariat who want to work towards a proper functioning organisation. When you have persons who are on the Commission and who were silent when all of this was happening in 2020, you cannot expect any better,” he said.

It was announced days ago that GECOM has settled on March 7, 2022 to kick off continuous registration, a necessary process for updating the List of Electors and paving the way for the holding of LGE. GECOM made the announcement on Tuesday, noting that the cycle of Continuous Registration will start on March 7 at all of GECOM’s permanent offices across the country. GECOM has 28 permanent registration

The Guyana Elections Commission

offices located in all of the ten administrative regions.

Over $750 million has been set aside in Budget 2022 for the preparation to be undertaken by GECOM for the hosting of LGE this year. This money is part of an overall $4.1 billion allocation to GECOM in Budget 2022, and was examined and approved by the National Assembly during its consideration of the 2022 Budget Estimates on Monday.

Included in the $783 million for LGE is a morethan-$300 million increase in “other goods and services purchased”, which jumped from $250.8 million in 2021 to $575.9 million in the 2022 budget.

LGE is constitutionally due every two years in Guyana, and were last held in 2018. However, given the

fiasco that played out following the 2020 General and Regional Elections, the Local Government polls were deferred to 2021.

At the last LGE in November 2018, the then People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Opposition had secured 52 of the 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs). This followed the holding of the LGE in 2016, during which the PPP/C also claimed the majority of the LAAs. After the 2018 LGE, GECOM spent over a year trying to get ready for snap elections that should have been held within three months of the then APNU/ AFC Government falling to a No-Confidence Motion in December 2018.

Those elections were finally held over a year, later on March 2, 2020, but were

then followed by a tumultuous five-month electoral impasse.

The PPP’s win was eventually declared by GECOM on August 2, 2020, after local and international pressure.

In the aftermath of that tumultuous period, former Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield; his Deputy, Roxanne Myers, and Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo were booted from GECOM in August of 2021.

The embattled trio is currently before the courts facing a number of electoral fraud charges for their alleged attempts to sway the results of the March 2020 General and Regional Elections in favour of the then ruling APNU/AFC Government.

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asst wife found dead CARPHA confirms presence Dental after misunderstanding of Omicron variant in Guyana with husband – husband taken into custody H

ealth Minister Dr Frank Anthony has confirmed the presence of the Omicron variant here, following the return of positive samples sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for genetic sequencing.

During the daily COVID-19 update on Wednesday, Minister Anthony said the samples were recently sent to the regional public health agency.

In January, the country saw a drastic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, and as such, 20 samples were sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Trinidad and Tobago for testing, to determine whether the presence of the Omicron variant was in Guyana.

“Of the 20 samples that we have sent, 19 came back positive for Omicron. One was indeterminate because, in the sample itself, apparently they did not have enough genetic material in the sample to be able to sequence it,” Dr. Anthony disclosed.

Minister Anthony noted there has been a general decline in cases countrywide, after the pandemic had peaked at more than 13,000.

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony

Current active cases stand at 494, with active cases in Region Four dropping to 144 after several months.

Meanwhile, the sub-type BA.2 of the Omicron variant has been detected in 74 countries, and seems to be overtaking the BA.1 subtype, which is the dominant subtype. The difference between the two sub-types is the presence of the SG target failure, which can be detected in the BA.1 using the normal PCR; however, the BA .2 does not have this target failure, and therefore cannot be detected by a normal PCR test, and requires

genetic sequencing.

Dr Anthony noted that scientists have been trying to observe whether this would lead to any clinical difference. However, so far, in terms of hospitalisation and clinical presentation, it remains similar.

“What, however, they have found is that it has a shorter duration for incubation, about half-day less than the Omicron BA.1, but it’s not really significant,” Dr Anthony said.

He noted that the variants are similar, as there were no major changes detected in the clinical man-

ifestation. “I guess the scientists would continue to observe and make deductions on what is happening with the BA.2,” he noted.

The BA.1 sub-variant has been the dominant variant since Omicron first manifested last November. Dr. Anthony suspects that the BA.2 may become the more dominant sub-variant; however, for now, scientists continue to monitor the findings.

In addition, hospitalisation numbers continue to decrease, with mostly older persons with underlying conditions being hospitalised.

Over the past months, the Minister had underscored the need for persons who have yet to take their vaccines to do so as soon as possible. Dr Anthony also stressed the importance of persons who are fully vaccinated taking their booster shots, as it would prove effective if they are to be infected by the Omicron variant.

In fact, the Health Minister has already met with the management of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) to discuss additional measures to be taken to protect both patients and staff from the Omicron variant.

T

Dead Dhanwantie Ramsarup and her husband in happier times

he husband of a 26-yearold dental assistant has been taken into custody following the discovery of her body on Tuesday evening at her home at Kuru Kururu village on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway.

The dead woman has been identified as Dhanwantie Ramsarup. Initially, it was suspected that she had committed suicide, but detectives have unearthed marks of violence about her body, and, as such, her husband has been arrested.

The husband, a 30-yearold dentist, reportedly told detectives that his wife had threatened to end her life be-

cause she was allegedly suffering from depression.

Based on reports received, the man and his now-dead wife had had a misunderstanding prior to him going to work.

However, he later learned that the woman had reportedly set fire to several pieces of her clothing. He rushed home, and it was then she had threatened to take her life.

Further, he reportedly told Police that, on Tuesday, he was at his parents’ home when he received a telephone call from his wife, who told him that she was going to kill herself.

TURN TO PAGE 15

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Industrialisation on ECD corridor will create over 4000 jobs – VP Jagdeo

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he People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government is undertaking a series of initiatives that will see the creation of more than 4000 job opportunities along the East Coast Demerara (ECD) corridor over the coming years.

This is according to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo during a recent interview with a social media commentator.

With the closure of the Enmore Estate back in 2017 under the then A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration, hundreds of sugar workers from Enmore and surrounding communities along the East Coast corridor were placed on the breadline, like other displaced Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) workers from the Wales, Albion and Skeldon Estates that were also shut down by the coalition regime.

Since it was in the Opposition, the PPP/C had promised to reopen those estates and revive the sugar industry to its once-thriv-

ing status. However, upon the PPP/C assuming office in August 2020, it was discovered that the condition of some of the estates, such as Wales, was too deteriorated to reopen.

As such, the Dr Irfaan Ali-led Government has since been undertaking several initiatives to create employment opportunities at those estates that cannot be revived to produce sugar.

According to Jagdeo, these initiatives are being carried out in a “studied way” to not only create jobs but also develop those communities that were devastated owing to the closure of the estates.

In fact, at the Enmore Estate, Jagdeo explained that the Government has allocated a 10-acre plot of land for development that will generate between 500 and 700 jobs in Enmore and surrounding areas.

This, he noted, coupled with the recent agreement signed with Guysons K+B Industries Inc (GKB), which will transform the Enmore Packaging Plant into a modern oilfield service centre

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

and manufacturing facility, will see even more retrenched workers being hired.

“So, that can take care of a lot of the employment from displaced sugar workers but … [also] others in the areas between just these two facilities in Enmore,” the Vice President said.

Additionally, Jagdeo pointed out that Government has also budgeted monies to build an industrial estate in the Enmore-Foulis area

that would not only benefit the displaced sugar workers but also other citizens along the East Coast corridor.

“So, these three initiatives alone will generate, we believe, close to 4000 jobs on the East Coast… So that is what we intended to do at Enmore to generate employment,” VP Jagdeo outlined.

At the announcement of the transformation of the Packaging Plant last month, President Ali further revealed that several new initiatives were in the pipeline that will result in the creation of more jobs as well as the opportunity for growth and development in communities.

“We have another announcement that is coming from a SurinameseGuyanese company that will create a few hundreds of jobs also, eventually going up to 1500 jobs along the East Coast corridor; that deals with processing, manufacturing, beverage production, and that is also coming on stream,” the Head of State had indicated.

Meanwhile, as part of the agreement for the es-

tablishment of the Enmore manufacturing facility that will cater to the oil and gas sector, GKB Industries will have to retain all the workers of the Packaging Plant and conduct training so that they can be absorbed into the new operations – and the workers have lauded this.

In addition, the Government will be giving the workers a two-month bonus to assist them during the transition period.

GKB Industries has committed to invest in the people of the East Coast corridor, investing an “unmatched” US$37.5 million (G$7.5 billion) to establish the state-of-the-art oilfield service facility.

The Packaging Plant is approximately 100,000 square feet and its transformation would take an estimated 18 to 24 months.

GKB said the Packaging Plant could be repurposed and become operational, almost immediately, preserving jobs currently held at the Plant, with a guarantee of 150 employees by the end of the first year and 500 in

five years.

According to the company, a minimum of 50 acres of land is required to effectively deliver OCTG (oil country tubular goods) and Premium Accessory Services to the local oil and gas sector. These services are currently being outsourced to Trinidad and Tobago, the United States, and other countries.

“We have committed to rehiring 100 per cent of the workers currently employed at the Enmore Packaging Plant. We will see to it that our expansion uplifts economically-depressed communities of the East Coast Corridor with sustainable jobs which will serve as a revitalising lifeline for its youth and laid-off sugar workers… The capacity building and job creation potential of this project and its spillover effects cannot be understated.,” the company said in a recent missive.

It further noted that it has agreed to strict land development timelines and milestones over the first three years that will be monitored as the phased development occurs.

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Christians observe Ash Wednesday – the beginning of Lent

Patricia Debydial Bishop Francis Alleyne, Head of the Catholic Church in Guyana

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cores of Christians around the world, including in Guyana, observed Ash Wednesday yesterday – a day believers receive an ash cross on their foreheads placed there by a priest or minister of religion to symbolise their acknowledgment that they have sinned and will repent.

Ash Wednesday represents one’s grief and mourning for their sins. The day also marks the start of Lent, a period of fast that leads up to Easter, the day Christians believe Jesus

was resurrected.

During this period, believers choose to honour the 40 days that Jesus, according to the Bible, spent in the desert after his baptism, during which he was tempted by Satan.

The imposition of ash on the forehead is full of the symbolism of repentance and conversion. When the priest applies the cross of ashes, he says to the worshiper: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” He also may say, “Repent, and believe in

the Gospel.”

Ash Wednesday is also a time when some Christians give up a thing or things that they enjoy, as a form of fasting, to see themselves in a ‘new light’.

Guyana Times visited the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Brickdam, Georgetown during midday mass on Wednesday and observed a large number of persons had congregated. Bishop Francis Alleyne, Head of the Catholic Church in Guyana, in an interview, explained that Lent should help to bring into focus the

Reverend Fr Monsell Alves places ash on the forehead of an altar servant at St Sidwell's Anglican Church

issues in the country and around the world.

“A day like this should help to bring that all into focus what these things are… because we are people of faith, this should show us what we ought to be doing to displace those troubling things,” he said.

“My feelings about this event are very strong, given some of the very troubling realities that we have in our world, and we can also point to some of those troubling realities we have here in our nation”, he said.

This year, instead of receiving ashes in the shape of a cross on the forehead, which is unsafe in this time of the pandemic, persons were still able to receive

them by sprinkling on top of the head – a return to a centuries-old way of receiving ashes.

“To try and maintain the COVID requirements, we also did an extra service, so that some of the crowd will be able to observe there.

We also put tents outside, so that we can still ask people to keep distancing and to keep their masks and everything on”, Father Alleyne said.

This publication also spoke with some of those who attended the service, who shared what this period means in their lives.

Patricia Debydial said, “During this period, I don’t have anything to put aside, because I do nothing. I just

Jerald Williams

keep my fast 40 days and 40 nights, and I like to give alms. I have been in this religion from birth…and as I get older, I remain in it”.

Another believer, Jerald Williams, said, “…this is preparing for Easter, and we make some form of sacrifice, something that you like, and you try to abstain from it.

If you can do it every year, you will find yourself getting rid of a lot of things that you would be doing wrong.

“Drinking and smoking is something that is completely out of my life now, because of this time…” he said.

The period of Lent ends after Good Friday, which marks the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

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Mohamed’s Enterprise donates cars to 4 taxi drivers

Businessmen Nazar “Shell” Mohamed and Azruddin Mohamed with the beneficiaries

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n celebration of their birth anniversaries, Mohamed’s Enterprise proprietor Nazar “Shell” Mohamed and his son, Azruddin Mohamed, donated four new cars to taxi drivers on Wednesday.

One Toyota Premio and three Toyota Fielder Wagons were handed over to Yussuf Mohammed Baksh, Shabir Mohamed, Marvin Jarvis, and Carring Samuel Hector at the establishment’s parking lot.

The younger Mohamed celebrated his birthday on Tuesday while his father will celebrate his on March 27.

In addition, his sister also celebrates her birthday this month.

In an invited comment, the elder Mohamed related that he has always believed in humanitarian work and taking into consideration the fact that Ramadan would soon be observed, he saw it fit to make the donations.

“Those who have wealth have an obligation to society as giving back to those who are not that fortunate… the wealth we have was given to us by the Almighty and once we share, we will continue to receive,” Mohamed stated.

The four beneficiaries were in tears since they were invited to the business place, but were unaware of the surprise gifts. Two of them had been renting cars to ply their trade while the other two had vehicles that had deteriorated.

They thanked the businessman and his son for their generous donation, adding that they have been praying for God to bless them with either their own vehicles or a new one so that they could continue to provide for their families.

In addition, the young-

Mohamed’s Enterprise proprietor Nazar “Shell” Mohamed having a light moment with the beneficiaries

er Mohamed was extremely elated to have assisted the four Guyanese, adding that he has been going to various communities and assisting as much as he can and it was

based on conversations and observations, they selected the beneficiaries.

“I have always been of the view that if you are in a position to help people, you must

do so, and we will continue to help as much as we can,” he added.

The cars were paid for in full by Mohamed’s Enterprise.

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GTT launches Fibre + Voice Service – customers can keep their number on Fibre

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TT has announced that “Fibre Just Got Better” with the introduction of its Fibre + Voice service.

Fibre + Voice is a bundled service combining high-

speed fibre Internet and telephone services. The newest service, offered by GTT, is in keeping with the company’s mission, “to pivot GTT to become a 21st-century customer-centric organisation”, as it

allows customers to get more value for their money.

Customers can expect free minutes for calls to landline and other GTT Fibre customers, lower calling rates, and the same great Internet

speeds they have come to anticipate from GTT Fibre. The new service is also in keeping with the telecommunications company’s promises to “reliably connect its customers” and “innovate for all in Guyana”.

“You (customers) have asked for this solution, and we have delivered. Residential customers shared their need to keep their existing landline number, which they have had for many years. Fibre + Voice now provides the option to keep this number, bundled with our high-speed Fibre Internet for just $1000 more,”

GTT Chief Operating Officer (COO) Eshwar Thakurdin related.

Thakurdin indicated that this bundle deal would benefit customers who want to keep their number while accessing the Fibre solution.

“This is quite a package when you consider that a landline customer today pays telephone rental of $750, plus charges for all calls.

Additionally, DSL customers who would like to upgrade to GTT Fibre get to keep their landline number with Fibre + Voice and will receive 500 complimentary minutes, or more depending on the plan

they choose,” he added.

In addition to the bundled minutes, the package is further loaded with three of the most popular features – call waiting, caller’s ID, and 3-way calling.

Thakurdin added, “Our promises include innovating for all in Guyana and reliably connecting our customers – I believe the addition of Fibre + Voice to our GTT Fibre plans directly fulfils these two promises as we give customers the option to keep their number while upgrading their copper technology to the more reliable fibre solution.”

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Fmr PNC MP Dunstan Barrow Human Services Ministry to host We LIFT 2 on Saturday nominated for NRF Board – as Opposition storms out of Committee meeting

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he Parliamentary Committee of Appointments has approved the nomination of Dunstan Barrow as a Director to sit on the Natural Resource Fund Board which will have oversight of Guyana oil revenues.

Barrow, a former People’s National Congress (PNC) Member of Parliament, was nominated by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government.

However, his nomination did not attract the approval of the PNC-led A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Opposition, whose members stormed out of the Committee meeting on Wednesday.

“After two hours, they walked out [of the meeting].

They didn’t like that we didn’t agree with their nominees, and they didn’t agree with our nominee… So, after two hours of discussions, the Committee, by majority, approved Dunstan Barrow as the nominee for the Natural Resource Fund Board,” a Government member told Guyana Times during a brief telephone interview.

This publication understands that initially there were 10 nominees – three from the Government and seven from the Opposition.

The Government’s nominees were Barrow, Hamley Case and Clement Sealey; while among the Opposition nominees were Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram and former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Vincent Adams.

Reports are that the Coalition members were upset that Government would use its one-seat majority to eventually have its nominee selected.

Meanwhile, in addition to Barrow’s nomination for the NRF Board, the Committee of Appointments on Wednesday also went ahead and approved the Government’s nomination of Clement Sealey to sit on the Public Accountability and Oversight Committee under the NRF Act.

Fmr PNC MP Dunstan Barrow

With the nominees approved by the Committee of Appointments, the next step now is for a motion and draft report to be presented to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which would then have to make a decision whether to send the nominations to the floor of the National Assembly.

But according to the Government source, the PAC, which is chaired by Opposition MP Jermaine Figueira, has been lagging on following the procedures to have the Appointment Committee’s recommendations meet the House.

In fact, this publication was also told that given that the five nominees from both the Government and Opposition sides were shortlisted and approved two meetings ago, the PAC is yet to submit that to the Clerk of the National Assembly.

“I don’t know why he is pussyfooting on bringing the motion to the House,” the government official stated.

The three-to-five-member NRF Board is expected to be made up of mostly civil society representatives, with one nominee from the Private Sector and one from the Parliament.

The other members are to be appointed by the President.

President Dr Irfaan Ali has already made it clear that he will select individuals with the utmost integrity to sit on the Board.

“We have some very good names that is being considered, and I’m just waiting now for Parliament to send their recommendations, and then with immediacy you will see the

board,” President Ali told reporters last month.

Section 5 (2) of the NRF Act provides that the Directors shall be selected from among persons who have wide experience and ability in legal, financial, business or administrative matters.

However, Section 5 (10) of the said Act states that a person shall not be eligible for appointment as a Director if that person, inter alia, is a member of the National Assembly.

The NRF Act was passed in the National Assembly in December, amid chaos caused by the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Opposition, who did their utmost to disrupt the proceedings after the Bill was brought up for debate.

The Bill, which has since been assented to by President Ali, outlines that the Directors will hold the post for not more than two years, with eligibility for reappointment; and all appointments, as well as changes in appointments, are to be gazetted and published on the Ministry’s website and in two daily newspapers.

The new Bill states that the Board of Directors will be responsible for the overall management of the Fund, reviewing and approving the policies of the Fund, monitoring the performance of the Fund, ensuring compliance with the approved policies of the Fund, and ensuring that the Fund is managed in compliance with the Act and all other applicable laws.

Moreover, the Board is expected to report to the subject Minister, who is allowed to give policy directives as deemed necessary to their functions. In addition, the legislation caters for the appointment of two committees, one of which is the Public Accountability and Oversight Committee, which will provide non-Government oversight of the Fund and comprise various civil society representatives who will have to present a report to the National Assembly annually.

Dental asst wife found dead..

FROM PAGE 10

As such, he and his father went to his residence, where he observed the house in darkness. As they made checks, they found Ramsarup’s motionless body lying face down, with a wire around her neck.

The Police were immediately contacted, and upon arriving at the scene, they reportedly found blood in her nostrils along with injuries to her left wrist and lacerations to her forehead. In addition, blood was seen on the ground about two feet from where her body was lying.

The woman was picked up and taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. A post mortem is expected to be conducted shortly.

The Police have since retrieved CCTV footage, which is being reviewed.

The dentist remains in custody as investigations continue.

Earlier in the year, 48-year-

old Edith Reuben, a housewife, was discovered hanging from a tree at her home at Yarrowkabra, SoesdykeLinden Highway.

Her husband, Dianand Lakhan, 41, and his friend 36-year-old Aubrey Williams, both of Yarrowkabra, LindenSoesdyke Highway, have been arraigned for her murder.

It was reported that Reuben lived with her reputed husband, who told Police that they, along with several neighbours, were consuming alcohol on February 6, 2022. However, after some time, the others left for their respective residences, except for a male friend.

The man said that his wife stayed on her verandah consuming alcohol while he and the other man retired to bed.

He reportedly told investigators that at about 04:00h the next morning, the male guest woke him to tell him that he was leaving their home. After

acknowledging his guest’s exit, the woman’s husband said, he went back to sleep. Two hours after, he awoke and made the gruesome discovery of his reputed wife’s motionless body hanging from a mango tree in the yard.

Following the discovery, the Police had stated that because of the positioning of the woman’s body, they believed that she was murdered, and her body was placed at the scene.

The post-mortem conducted on the body by Government Pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh confirmed the woman had died because of asphyxiation due to hanging, compounded by blunt trauma to the head.

Following the revelation of the post-mortem examination, the woman’s husband and the alleged male visitor were arrested, and remain in Police custody. It was also reported that the men confessed to killing the woman.

Human Services and Social Security Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud inspecting one of the products on display during WE LIFT 1

M

ore than 120 upand-coming female-owned businesses will be on display this Saturday as the Human Services Ministry hosts the WE LIFT 2 Exhibition at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown Demerara.

The event, which follows a successful pilot expo last year, is being held in recognition of the innovation and empowerment of women. It is named, “Women Entrepreneurs: We lead, we innovate, we flourish together.” The event is being held during this time to coincide with International Women’s Day, being held on March 8 under the United Nation’s theme “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.”

The premise of the daylong expo aims at showcasing a variety of businesses in diverse areas, including arts, craft, food, fashion and jewelry; health and wellness; services, and other exciting and unconventional areas.

Participating businesswomen would get the chance to pitch their products and services to a wide cross-section of people, who would be able to purchase, sample, or benefit from giveaways.

This year, some special features under the direct supervision of Human Services Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud are an enchanting rainforest food court and an inspiring motivational edutainment programme.

Many other creative features would add to the phe-

nomenal atmosphere at the Convention Centre.

“WE LIFT exceeded my expectations and gave 75 women entrepreneurs good visibility. Everyone who attended left laden with beautiful products, and were impressed with the event and the exceptional presentation of Guyanese women from across the country. As such, WE LIFT 2 was only natural. I would like all of you to experience the magnitude of this event, so don’t miss it,” Minister Persaud has said.

The event opens from 14.00 hours and goes until 19.00 hours, but while admission is free, all COVID-19 guidelines are in place, with persons being required to show their vaccination cards and wear masks at all times.

16 NEWS MV Barima to resume operations after $90M repairs THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Public Works Minister Bishop Juan Edghill

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he MV Barima, which provides ferry service to residents of Region One (BarimaWaini), is expected to recommence operations as soon as repairs costing $90 million have been completed.

The 88-year-old watercraft was docked for emergency repairs following an assessment by the Transport and Harbours

Department (T&HD).

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill noted that the safety of citizens was important to the Government and as such, the repairs to the vessel were necessary.

“The systems were heavily compromised and taking into consideration … our number one priority – safety, we had to make a quality decision of getting this boat fully rehabilitated,” he said.

The Minister stat-

ed that the vessel had not been drydocked for repairs in six years which led to some of the damage.

“This vessel has not been in dry dock for approximately six years, a vessel [is] to be in drydock every 18 to 24 months and that’s one of the reasons why all the anodes were missing, because they have a lifespan – they fall off; once they fall off, the damage

in Supply, East Bank Demerara (EBD), will be returning to the T&HD within 24 hours.

The vessel’s engine will then be inspected by Macorp to address any further issues. The MV Barima traverses the Georgetown to Port Kaituma route and has the capacity to transport some 150 passengers twice daily.

Work is also ongoing on the Parika-Supenaam ferry to resolve some generator issues.

Meanwhile, T&HD General Manager Marclene Merchant said she was pleased with the quality of works completed within the short time frame.

“I am more than impressed with the works done on this vessel. I was

here when the vessel came into dry dock and the vessel was in a deplorable state; it was terrible and within

two weeks, the vessel has been completed. Just the engines we need to look at now and we are trying our

best to see how soon we can get this vessel back in service,” she declared.

Rose Hall Town CIIP workers yet to receive salaries

O

goes directly to the hull.

“Every time you postpone maintenance; docking it becomes costlier because the damage becomes greater and greater. So, I think we have to come to a place of ensuring that we stay within the maintenance cycle and be able to manage things better,” the Minister stated.

The vessel which underwent two weeks’ intense rehabilitation at the Pritipaul’s dockyard

ver two dozen Community Infrastructure Improvement Project (CIIP) workers attached to Rose Hall Town have not been paid for the year and are now frustrated with the difficulties they are faced with in maintaining their families.

Some workers have already had their utilities disrupted owing to their inability to pay the bills taking into consideration that they were last paid in December 2021.

It is now three months into the new year, and the workers have not received a single cent even though they continue to perform their duties on a daily basis. They get an estimated $35,000 for a 16-day work month. From this, their NIS contributions are deducted.

For many, this is their

3 nabbed with $16M worth of ganja in Berbice

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hree men were arrested on Wednesday after a vehicle was intercepted with a large quantity of ganja along the Number 63 Public Road, Corentyne, Berbice.

The operation was conducted by the Customs AntiNarcotics Unit (CANU).

Based on reports received, the vehicle which was intercepted was transporting three persons at the time.

During the search, several parcels containing 53.6 kilograms of cannabis with an estimated value of $16,080,000 were found in the trunk.

The men were put into custody as CANU continues its efforts to curb the flow of narcotics in the said district.

MV Barima

The ganja that was found in the vehicle

Some of the CIIP workers carrying out their duties

only source of income to maintain their families and pay the bills.

According to some workers, no information is forthcoming regarding the lengthy delay in their payment.

“Over two months now we have no pay and what the Town Clerk, the Mayor and the Coordinator need to do is to come out and tell us something about our salaries,” Carl Barnwell, one of the affected workers told the Guyana Times.

“That is what we want but you find that nobody coming out and saying anything; no respect and no regard for us,” he added.

Barnwell and the others have all vented their frustration. According to him, he has racked up a $17,000 bill at the community shop and still has not paid his utilities for the year.

Meanwhile, Drupatie Ramkissoon has been working for the past 15 years with CIIP. The mother of two is also a single parent who related that there is no one else from whom she can borrow money.

“I don’t have no one who I could go to and they will help e with money. You have to pay for water, you have to pay the light bill, you have to pay the phone bill, you have to pay the internet bill and there is nothing there… they come to me already for the light and I had to borrow money and ay just to stop them from taking it away. The water bill was $8,900 and I borrow money and pay that. The internet is off right now, I can’t make it more to borrow, I already borrow to pay the light bill and to pay the water bill.

The phone is off too,” the woman added.

Another worker, Jourdan Thomas who is also a single parent explained that it is very strenuous to send his 15-year-old son to school given the fact that he has not been paid for the year.

Jenifer Henry, a mother of six said efforts to enquire about their payments have not been successful.

She related that she had raised her concerns with was a senior official of the Municipality who told

her that they are only responsible for ensuring that the work is executed but has no say in when they get paid.

“Right now it is hard because I owe water bill, I owe the light bill and I have people working with me and I don’t have money to pay them and the people walk off the job plus I have to eat. Many days I don’t have rice to cook and I have to ask my children to help me,” the 52-yearold woman stated.

In an invited comment, the Town Clerk of the Municipality, Natasha Munroe said it is the Local Government Ministry that is responsible for paying workers. She said the Ministry explained that the late payment came about because there was no budget and it was only recently passed.

According to the Town Clerk, she was promised that the cheque will be made available soon. If this comes to fruition, it will take a few more days before salaries become available in the worker’s bank accounts.

NEWS

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THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

A third of pregnant women with COVID-19 unable to access life-saving critical care on time A lack of access to timely care and disruptions to prenatal services are to be blamed for an increase in maternal mortality in the Americas during the pandemic, with one in three pregnant women being unable to access timely critical care, according to Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Dr Carissa F. Etienne.

With COVID-19 cases among pregnant women reaching more than 365,000 in the region over the past two years, and deaths surpassing 3000, Dr Etienne said in a media briefing today that “this is a tragedy, especially now that we have safe and effective vaccines.”

A pre-published PAHO study on maternal mortality across 8 countries showed that, of 447 pregnant women that died between 1 March 2020 and 29 November 2021, 90 per cent were already experiencing life-threatening symptoms when admitted to hospital.

Nearly 77 per cent delivered their babies prematurely, and 60 per cent were born with low birth weight – an issue that can impact the health of a child for the rest of its life.

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director, Dr Carissa F EtienneA

“We must prioritise women to ensure they are shielded from the worst of the pandemic,” Dr. Etienne has said.

Pregnant women in particular are “among the most vulnerable to COVID-19, due to changes in their immune system, which can put them at risk for severe disease,” she added, urging countries to urgently ramp up access to vaccines, ensure the continuation of health services that women depend on, and improve access to family planning services.

These are “life-saving services that should remain open now more than ever,” the Director has added.

Even though most countries in the region recommend COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women, their uptake is still very low. “It is critical that health workers talk to expectant mothers about the importance of getting vaccinated, to protect them and their babies from this virus,” Dr Etienne has said.

The PAHO Director also called for greater emphasis on programmes that address women of ethnic minorities, such as Afro-descendants, Indigenous women, and migrants who “are often at greater risk due to the overlap of gender and social factors.

Dr Etienne also highlighted the broader impact that the COVID-19 crisis has had on women and girls, including additional caregiving responsibilities and career disruptions.

She highlighted that, as the majority of the health workforce, women have been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response, accounting for 72 per cent of all COVID-19 cases among health professionals.

“In a region that is rife with inequality, women have once again been disproportionately affected,” she said.

Turning to the COVID-19

Over 200 CSOs to be trained in maintenance of hinterland water supply systems

situation in the region, the Director reported that new cases dropped to 32 per cent from the previous week, reaching

T

he Housing and Water Ministry, in collaboration with the Amerindian Affairs Ministry and the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which would see over 200 Community Service Officers (CSOs) being trained to maintain water supply systems in hinterland communities.

Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, explained that in many cases, “simple problems” occur in these water supply systems, due to poor maintenance.

With this initiative, the CSOs, who are permanently in the area, will be trained to properly address these problems, so that hinterland residents will not be significantly affected by the lack of water supply.

“Through this collaboration, there are several benefits that will be derived, both for the CSOs as well as the communities which have the water supply system…they

will be given an opportunity through this collaboration to learn new skills, to be able to improve their knowledge through training,” she remarked.

Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai, who was present at the simple signing ceremony, explained that this initiative further reflects Government’s commitment to ensure sufficient water is supplied to the hinterland regions of the country.

This point was emphasised by Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal, who explained Government’s plans to deliver potable water all across the country by 2025.

“We are under 60% coverage for the hinterlands, and so the robust programme that we have to ensure as fast as possible and the resources that are available that we can reach full coverage, and we envisage to have this done by 2025 in the completion of our five-year strategic plan,” he outlined. In order to achieve this, plans are already on stream to drill 146 new wells.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of GWI, Shaik Baksh, asserted that this initiative reflects some of what the company has been doing for the past 18 months in terms of building partnerships.

“This is an important event, and it cements what GWI has been doing over the last 18 months since there has been change of government and since there has been a new board and management of GWI, and that is to build partnerships. This is one of the main thrusts of GWI,” Baksh explained.

The CSOs who are to benefit from the training are stationed in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine. For every community with a water supply system, at least two CSOs will be trained.

Training will commence in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) on Thursday, when thirty communities will be targeted. It will then continue in Region One (Barima-Waini) and subsequently reach the other hinterland communities.

much of the region, with the exception of Central America, where deaths rose by nearly 16 per cent this week.

Rapist seeks to overturn “perverse” verdicts, “excessive” sentence

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entenced back in 2016 to 25 years in prison for sodomising and orally penetrating a 17-year-old girl against her will, Paul Abrams has filed an appeal, arguing that the verdicts returned by the jury were “perverse”, and that his sentence is “excessive”.

Led by Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, the Guyana Court of Appeal on Wednesday heard arguments in this matter. Abrams is being represented by lawyers Nigel Hughes and Kiswana Jefford, while Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Dionne McCammon appears for the State.

Abrams, according to Hughes, was tried by a jury for buggery, indecent assault (oral penetration), and rape (vaginal penetration) committed on the teenage girl without her consent. The incident occurred on December 5, 2007 in Demerara.

While the jurors found Abrams guilty of buggery and indecent assault, for which he was sentenced to 25 and four years’ imprisonment respectively by Justice Jo-Ann Barlow, they found him not guilty on the latter charge. The sentences will run concurrently.

Factual background

Officials during the signing of the MoU

1.5 million. Countries also reported 24,650 deaths, a 10 per cent decline. These downward trends were seen throughout

It was the prosecution’s case that Abrams, a supervisor at the time, had lured the girl to a room at their workplace, where he proceeded to rape and sodomise her.

He reportedly then locked her away in the room, and returned with another man, Holston Melville, who also raped and sodomised her. After some time had elapsed, they reportedly left the room, locking the teenager inside. It was then another man, Claude Craig, reportedly entered and sodomised the teen.

Melville and Craig had been charged along with Abrams for sexually abusing the girl. Melville was found not guilty on all charges by a jury back in 2016. Craig, on the other hand, was found not guilty of buggery but guilty of indecent assault, and was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment.

Verdicts perverse

In his opening arguments, Hughes pointed the Appeal Court judges to the chronology of the events as related by the victim in the record of appeal.

He said the victim related that she was firstly orally penetrated, secondly anally penetrated, and thirdly penetrated vaginally.

But for the jury to acquit Abrams of rape, Hughes argued, this series of activities would mean that the girl did not consent to have oral and anal sex, but “apparently” consented to have vaginal sex with

place, or two or three activities took place. To this end, she told Hughes that his argument that the verdict is perverse “might need some qualification”.

Sentence excessive

Convicted rapist: Paul Abrams

his client.

At this point, Justice Cummings-Edwards told Hughes that this does not mean that the jury cannot say which aspects of the activities they accept.

“If somebody says, ‘The first time you hit me and beat me up I didn’t consent. The second time you hit me and beat me up I didn’t consent, but the third time you hit me and beat me up I consented’, and they say, ‘Yes, you consented to the third time’, I would respectfully submit that - especially if it is accompanied by injuries - that is a perverse verdict…,” the lawyer contended.

He continued, “This means she would have had to say no to the first activity (oral penetration)…she would have had to endure the anal penetration, and after all of those, what one would only assume were traumatic occasions, have consented in that state to the third type of activity (vaginal penetration) which was the traditional means of relations between a man and a woman.”

As such, Hughes insisted that the verdicts must, in and of themselves, be perverse, because it is not open to the jury to find a different sequence in the activities if it is not disclosed in the evidence.

The lawyer went on to reason that if the evidence said that the sequence of activities was “reversed” — if she had consented first to be vaginally penetrated, and then the other two types of sexual activities took place, then the verdict would not be perverse.

“What if the jury found that third activity did not take place? They believed that the first two activities took place but the third activity did not, hence their verdict?” the Chancellor asked. Despite this, Hughes argued that the issue of perversity remains. “…I don’t think it would remove the question of perversity. Because the jury would have had to believe that one and two activities took place, both of which were denied by the [appellant], and then the third activity, which was also denied, did not take place.

Then there was no evidence to suggest that either one and two alone took place, or that none of them took place.”

Justice CummingsEdwards, however, reminded counsel that it was open for the jury to find that nothing took

On the issue of sentencing, Hughes contended that the prison sentence imposed on his client is excessive and not in keeping with sentencing guidelines established by the nation’s highest court, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

He particularly relied on the methodology adopted by the CCJ in the cases of Linton Pompey v the Director of Public Prosecutions of Guyana, and Calvin Ramcharran v the Director of Public Prosecutions of Guyana, in which the baseline for sexual offences, according to him, would have been 15 years in prison.

Justified

For her part, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Dionne McCammon, submitted that the sentences imposed on Abrams are appropriate, and can be justified.

While the prosecutor said she was cognisant of the case laws highlighted by Abrams’s lawyer, she noted that those cases predate the case at bar.

Given the nature of the offences, the aggravating factors, including the fact that the victim was assaulted during the commission of the offences which took place at her place of employment, McCammon said, the sentences are neither excessive nor wrong in principle.

Moreover, the prosecutor rejected Hughes’s contention that the verdicts were perverse.

McCammon said that no one knows why the jury returned a not-guilty verdict for rape. “Not guilty does not mean that the virtual complainant consented… we don’t know why the jury said not guilty to that offence,” she said, while adding that she is relying on the sequence of events as stated by the victim.

Serious offences

The Chancellor underscored that when it comes to sentencing, each case would turn on its own particular facts, because “there is no one-sizefits-all in these kinds of cases.”

While noting that these are serious offences, she said it is her view that the trial judge is best suited to impose sentence, having seen and heard the witnesses. Justice CummingsEdwards nevertheless said the court hopes to see justice done at the end of the day, both for the victim and appellant.

Besides the Chancellor, Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud comprised the bench. The Appellate Court has reserved its ruling in this matter.

18

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

News

Tomb raiders break into tomb at Buxton burial ground

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omb raiders have struck again, this time in the Buxton Methodist Church Cemetery along the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), removing the decaying remains from casket and lining up the bones on the ground.

Family members of the dead man, who was identified as well-known East Coast resident Manu Durant, who was shot dead in 2015, were called to the scene on Wednesday morning, after the discovery was made.

Cops were also summoned to the scene, and they were trying to determine when and how the tomb was destroyed and more so if anything was taken from the casket.

In a live video that was seen by Guyana Times, family and friends of the dead man expressed disgust that his final resting place was vandalised.

One person was heard saying “what are they looking for after seven years, gold chain and gold band? This is disrespectful… this is wickedness… why would they throw people out of their

Manu Durant was killed in 2015

tomb like this”.

After the discovery was made, the remains had to be placed in a new casket and reburied by Durant’s family and friends.

Durant was a well-known promoter, one-time wanted man, and former bodyguard of convicted drug lord Shaheed Roger Khan. He was shot dead in a strip club

on North Road, Georgetown in June 2015.

Durant was at the Baroombar Strip Club, according to reports, when he got into a confrontation with another patron of the club.

During the confrontation, Durant whipped out a firearm and fired a shot at the man. The man in retaliation whipped out his own weapon and returned fire. One of the shots hit Durant straight in the chest.

He fell to the ground while the suspect left the premises.

Durant was rushed to the Dr Balwant Singh Hospital where he remained unconscious and in critical condition until his death.

In 2009, Durant had been shot to the neck during an apparent execution attempt.

In 2008, a wanted bulletin was issued for him in connection with the disappearance of Buxton resident Tunisha Morgan who cops believed was a girlfriend of now dead criminal Rondell “Fineman” Rawlins.

Earlier this month, two men were remanded for allegedly breaking into a tomb

Well-known drug mule, 1 other busted with cocaine pellets

The tomb that was broken into

and stealing belongings from the corpse. That incident occurred in Corentyne,

Berbice.

The suspects, according to reports, allegedly broke

into the tomb of Vishnu Samaroo, 19, and stole a cellphone and jewellery.

Police said the two suspects reportedly confessed to committing the act. They told detectives that they had learnt that the youth had been buried with a lot of money. However, they said they stole only a cellphone and the rings and denied they stole money, claiming that there was none in the coffin.

They also admitted that after realising the rings were artificial, they threw them away.

Samaroo had been diagnosed with stage four cancer in 2021 and had lost his battle with the disease in January 2022.

Son of AFC Leader charged for assaulting woman

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ivesh Ramjattan, son of Alliance for Change (AFC) Leader Khemraj Ramjattan, was on Wednesday charged with assaulting a woman.

The father of two appeared in Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan’s Georgetown court and pleaded not guilty to a charge which stated that on February 27, 2022, at Georgetown, he unlawfully

Divesh Ramjattan

assaulted the woman.

Divesh Ramjattan was represented by his father, who is an Attorney-at-Law by profession.

The virtual complainant told the court that she had taken out a restraining order against the younger Ramjattan, and did not wish to proceed with the matter.

As such, the Chief Magistrate dismissed the charge.

Kitty woman wanted by Police for fraud

T

The cocaine pellets during the operation

he Guyana Police (GPF) have issued a wanted bulletin for Amrita Bahadur, whom they want for questioning in relation to obtaining money by false pretence.

This woman’s last known address is Lot 155 Garnett Street, Kitty, Georgetown.

According to investigators, the incident occurred in Georgetown between June 2021 and February

found

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wo men were arrested by the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) on Wednesday following the discovery of a quantity of cocaine pellets during an operation at Front Road, West Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

Based on reports received, CANU officers conducted a search operation at a residence in the West Ruimveldt, Front Road area during which the wrapped pellets were found.

As such, Ron Reid, 49, and Nigel Dundas, 45, were arrested and escorted to CANU’s headquarters along with the drugs which were later tested and confirmed to be cocaine.

The more than 100 pellets were weighed in the

Wanted: Amrita Bahadur

2022.

Anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of Amrita Bahadur is asked to contact the Police on telephone numbers 226-6977, 225-8196, 226-9941, 226-1326, 2253061, 225-3650, 911, or at the nearest Police station.

The Police have said that all information would be treated with the strictest confidence.

Man arrested with firearm during domestic dispute

suspects’ presence and amounted to 1.084 kilogram, with a street value of $1.2 million.

According to a release issued by CANU, Reid is no stranger to the drug enforcement unit. On March 2, 2015, he, along with his common-law wife, was arrested with 70 grams of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

In 2017, CANU had is-

sued a wanted bulletin for him after his associate Julius Watkins was intercepted at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) with 114 cocaine pellets that he had ingested.

Watkins subsequently pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison. The following day, Reid turned himself into CANU.

P

The gun, cutlass and axe that Police found in the suspect’s possession

olice in Regional Division 4C, East Coast Demerara, have arrested a man who was attempting to break into a female’s house at Buxton ECD on Tuesday.

Police have said that they responded to a domestic violence report made by a 46-year-old woman of

Buxton, ECD shortly after midnight on Monday, and arrested a 39-year-old male, whom they searched and unearthed a revolver in the waist of his pants.

He was also armed with a cutlass and a small axe.

This man had earlier violently threatened the complainant, and had at-

tempted to enter her premises by breaking windows, in the process of which he had received injuries.

He was promptly arrested and taken to the GPHC, where he is under guard and is being treated for a fractured skull.

Investigations into this incident are in progress.

guyanatimesgy.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

19

News

Ukraine's 2nd city heavily bombed as UN Assembly denounces Russia

A view shows the area near National University after shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in this handout picture released March 2, 2022 (Ukrainian State Emergency Service/via Reuters)

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kraine's second biggest city, Kharkiv, suffered heavy bombardment on Wednesday as Russia's week-long invasion was denounced by the United Nations in a historic vote and dozens of countries referred Moscow to be probed for po-

US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken told reporters after the vote. "This is a threat to the security of Europe and the entire rules-based order."

A total of 38 countries have also referred Russia to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which probes al-

A couple take shelter at an underground metro station as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 2, 2022

tential war crimes.

The biggest attack on a European State since 1945 has caused over 870,000 people to flee, a barrage of sanctions against Russia, and stoked fears of wider conflict in the West unthought-of for decades.

The incursion has yet to overthrow the Government in Kyiv, but thousands are thought to have died or been injured and it could cause another deep hit to the global economy still emerging from the coronavirus pandemic.

Bombing of Kharkiv, a city of 1.5 million people in eastern Ukraine, has left its centre a wasteland of ruined buildings and debris.

"The Russian 'liberators' have come," one Ukrainian volunteer lamented sarcastically, as he and three others strained to carry the dead body of a man wrapped in a bedsheet out of the ruins on a main square.

A UN resolution reprimanding Moscow was supported by 141 of the Assembly's 193 members, passed in a rare emergency session, a symbolic victory for Ukraine that increases Moscow's international isolation.

"More is at stake even than the conflict in Ukraine itself,"

leged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"We are crystal clear that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin cannot commit these

occupy territory, but to destroy its southern neighbour's military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.

The Kremlin said its forces had taken the Black Sea port of Kherson, a southern provincial capital of around 250,000 people strategically placed where the Dnipro River flows into the Black Sea. Kyiv earlier denied this.

Late on Wednesday, Kherson Mayor Igor Kolykhayev said Russian troops were in the streets and had forced their way into the city council building.

An explosion also rocked the Kyiv railway station during the night, where thousands of women and children were being evacuated.

An Interior Ministry adviser said the blast was caused by wreckage from a downed Russian cruise missile, not a direct rocket strike. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis have so far failed.

A person walking on the street is pictured through a hole in the wall of a residential building, which locals said was damaged by recent shelling, in the separatist-controlled town of Horlivka (Gorlovka)

talks with Russian officials on a ceasefire after a first round made little progress on Monday, Ukrainian pres-

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow still sought Ukraine's "demilitarisation" and that there should be a list of specified weapons that could never be deployed on Ukrainian territory. Moscow opposes Kyiv's bid to join NATO. A Ukrainian delegation had left for a second round of

town so they're just attacking us from afar," he said.

Moscow denies targeting civilians.

Company exodus

View from a Russian Army aviation helicopter as it escorts units of Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine, during their invasion, at in unspecified location in this screengrab obtained from social media

idential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Russia must stop bombing if it wants to negotiate.

Local residents work among the remains of a residential building destroyed by shelling in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, March 2, 2022 as Russia's invasion continues

horrific acts with impunity," said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

No one at Russia's Foreign Ministry was immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters out-ofhours.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" that it says is not designed to

due to reporting delays.

Russia's Defence Ministry said 498 Russian soldiers had died and another 1597

Disputed death toll

The UN Human Rights Office said it had confirmed the deaths of 227 civilians and 525 injuries during the conflict as of midnight on March 1, mostly caused by "the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area".

It cautioned that the real toll would be much higher

had been wounded since the start of the invasion, the first time Moscow put a figure on its casualties. It said more than 2870 Ukrainian soldiers and "nationalists" had been killed, Interfax news agency reported.

Ukraine said more than 7000 Russian soldiers had been killed so far and hundreds taken prisoner.

The numbers given by Moscow and Kyiv could not be independently verified.

After failing to swiftly take major cities and to subdue Ukraine's military, US officials have said for days that they believe Russia will instead seek to encircle cities, cutting off supply and escape routes, then attacking with a combined force of armour, ground troops, and engineers.

At least 25 people have been killed by shelling and air strikes in Kharkiv in the past 24 hours, authorities said.

Pavel Dorogoy, 36, a photographer who lives near the city centre, said Russian forces had targeted the council building, which was empty at the time, a telephone exchange, and a television tower.

"Most people hid in the basements for most of the day today and last night... The Russians cannot enter the

Russia's main advance on the capital – a huge armoured column, stretching for miles along the road to Kyiv – has been largely frozen in place for days, Western Governments say.

The Kremlin's decision to launch war – after months of denying such plans – has shocked Russians accustomed to viewing Putin, their ruler of 22 years, as a methodical strategist.

It has also prompted a backlash from global firms.

Apple, Exxon, Boeing and other firms joined an exodus of international companies from Russian markets that has left Moscow financially and diplomatically isolated.

The European Union and the United States also imposed new sanctions on Belarus for its supporting role in the invasion.

SWIFT, the dominant messaging system underpinning global financial transactions, said seven Russian institutions would be excluded from March 12.

Russia's rouble currency plunged to a new record low on Wednesday, a slide that will hit Russians' living standards, and the stock market remained closed. The central bank, itself under sanctions, has doubled interest rates to 20 per cent.

In an echo of the post-Soviet economic collapse of the 1990s, Russians have queued at banks to salvage their savings.

And as Russians face pressure worldwide, businessman Roman Abramovich said he would sell London's Chelsea Football Club and donate money from the sale to help victims of the war.

"I believe this is in the best interest of the club, the fans, the employees, as well as the club's sponsors and partners," he said. (Reuters)

20

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

guyanatimesgy.com

DAILY HOROSCOPES

ARCHIE

Keep your secrets to yourself. Sharing too much information will disrupt your relationship with someone in a position to influence your future. Finish paperwork in order to avoid a fine or loss.

(March 21-April 19) Someone’s change of heart will put you in a good position. You will receive the help you need if you are clear about your plans and desires. Celebrate with a loved one.

DILBERT (April 20-May 20)

Think for yourself and proceed with your plans, regardless of temptation.

Intelligence and practicality will help you advance. Be wary of a scheme someone presents.

(May 21-June 20) Formulate a plan and follow through.

You can bring about change that will improve your chance to advance. Take advantage of an opportunity. Romance is encouraged.

PEANUTS (June 21-July 22)

(July 23-Aug. 22)

Avoid getting into a compromising position. Keep your thoughts to yourself, and don’t sign up for something you don’t fully comprehend. Take care of unfinished business and put your needs first.

It’s up to you to make a change. Trust your instincts and follow your heart.

Enhance a meaningful relationship by spending quality time together. A lifestyle change looks promising.

CALVIN AND HOBBES

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Go over all your options and consider what’s doable and affordable. Don’t back yourself into a corner because you don’t know how to say no. Procrastination is the enemy.

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Keep everyone guessing until you are ready to make your move. Explore the possibility of changing your residence, lifestyle or direction. Let your creative side take the reins.

SUDOKU (Oct. 24-Nov. 22)

Proceed with caution. Someone will be eager to make you look bad or take advantage of you. Choose your words carefully, and don’t make promises you don’t want to keep.

(Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Work hard, and you will find a way to reach your goal. Being adaptable will help you adjust to the necessary changes involved in the process. Romance will enhance your day.

TUESDAY'S WORD -- LEGACIES

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Control situations before someone tries to take charge. Be respectful of others, but don’t let them walk all over you. Do what brings you joy and peace of mind.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Refuse to let red tape hold you back.

Ensure all documents are ready in order to avoid setbacks. Take the initiative by putting your ideas and plans into play.

New beginnings are within reach.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

21

Maharashtra Government allows 25% capacity fans to attend IPL 2022 T

he Maharashtra Government has approved attendance of fully vaccinated spectators at 25% of stadium capacity for IPL 2022, which is set to be held in Mumbai and Pune from March 26.

In an official statement issued on Wednesday, the state Government has said that, considering the COVID-19 cases have been on the decline, the crowd limit has been capped at 25%, but only fully vaccinated spectators would be permitted to enter the stadiums.

This has been the case after

the Maharashtra Government conducted a meeting with BCCI and the Mumbai Cricket

Association (MCA) for the smooth conduct of the IPL, which is now a ten-team tournament.

Abramovich says he plans to sell Chelsea club

C

helsea owner Roman Abramovich says he is planning to sell the club.

In a statement on the Premier League club’s website, businessman Abramovich said it was an “incredibly difficult decision to make”, which “pains” him.

On Saturday, Abramovich said he would give “stewardship and care” of Chelsea to its foundation trustees following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian will not ask “for any loans to be repaid”, and proceeds of the sale will be donated to war victims.

Earlier on Wednesday, billionaire Hansjorg Wyss told Swiss newspaper Blick he had been offered the chance to buy the West London club.

Wyss said Abramovich wanted “to get rid of Chelsea quickly”, after the threat of sanctions was raised in Parliament.

Abramovich, 55, is alleged to have strong ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he has denied. He says “all net

for any loans to be repaid.

“I have instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated. The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine.”

BBC Sport understands that the trustees of Chelsea’s charitable foundation, who had not yet agreed to take control of the club, will no longer be asked to. Chelsea’s players were not told ahead of time about their owner’s statement, which was released less than an hour before the side’s FA Cup fifth-round tie at Luton Town.

Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 for £140m, and he says it has “never been about business nor money, but about pure passion for the game and club”.

A club transformed

Since his purchase of the club, Chelsea have been transformed, setting the template for how much finance was needed to compete at the top end of the Premier

Why has Abramovich chosen to sell?

Other Russian billionaires have already been the subject of European Union sanctions, in which their assets have been frozen. That has included Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who has commercial links to Everton.

The United Kingdom Government is yet to sanction Abramovich or Usmanov, but Labour MP Chris Bryant said in Parliament on Tuesday that Abramovich was “terrified of being sanctioned, which is why he is going to sell his home tomorrow [Wednesday], and another flat as well”.

On Wednesday, during Prime Minister’s Questions, Labour leader Keir Starmer asked why Abramovich was not facing sanctions, with Boris Johnson replying it was “not appropriate to comment on any individual case at this stage”.

Wyss also said: “Abramovich is trying to sell all of his villas in England. He also wants to get rid of Chelsea quickly. I and three other people received an offer on Tuesday to buy Chelsea from Abramovich.”

A spokesperson for Abramovich declined to comment on those claims.

'It can take months or years'

Chelsea have been owned by Roman Abramovich since 2003

proceeds from the sale” will be donated to the “victims of the war in Ukraine”.

In his statement, Abramovich added: “I have always taken decisions with the club’s best interest at heart. In the current situation, I have therefore taken the decision to sell the club, as I believe this is in the best interest of the club, the fans, the employees, as well as the club’s sponsors and partners.

“The sale of the club will not be fast-tracked, but will follow due process. I will not be asking

League. In total, Abramovich has loaned the club more than £1.5bn, which has helped to bring great success.

Under his ownership, the club have won the Champions League twice, both the Premier League and FA Cup five times, the Europa League twice, and the League Cup three times.

In August 2021, they won the UEFA Super Cup, and in February, they won their first Club World Cup, meaning the Blues have won every major trophy possible since Abramovich took over at the club.

Former Newcastle and England striker Alan Shearer on BBC One: “It’s a huge moment for Chelsea. He has brought massive success over his 20 years, but it is not simple, selling a football club.

It can take months or years.

“But, more importantly, there is still no condemnation from Roman or the club about what is happening in Ukraine.”

Former Manchester City and England defender Micah Richards on BBC One: “It is a better statement than Saturday. There is a lot more clarity, and Roman Abramovich has done the right thing.

“It is so sad we have to talk about this on a football night, after all the scenes we have seen.

It is heartbreaking. The sooner it happens the better.” (BBC Sport)

Ministers of the state Government - Aaditya Thackeray and Eknath Shinde - along with MCA Chief, Vijay Patil, and Apex Council members Ajinkya Naik and Abhay Hadap, and treasurer Jagdish Achrekar, were present at the meeting.

After the meeting, in a series of tweets, Aaditya Thackeray said, “To ensure the smooth flow of the @IPL, Minister @mieknathshinde ji and I conducted a joint meeting of IPL, @BCCI with officers of Police and Municipal Corporations of Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai.”

He also said that the state’s Deputy Chief Minister would soon conduct a similar meeting for Pune, the other venue for IPL. “For Pune, the meeting will be held soon, proposed to be chaired by DCM sir to ensure that the tournament is successfully carried out in all our city venues,” said Aaditya, who is the son

of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

It is understood that the MCA ground in suburban Bandra Kurla Complex, MCA ground in Thane, the Dr DY Patil University ground, and a football pitch along with the CCI (Cricket Club of India) and the Reliance Corporate Park ground in Ghansoli have been identified by the authorities as practice venues for the tournament.

Players are likely to start coming into the city from March 8, and it is also understood that all the participants would have to undergo RT-PCR tests 48 hours prior to their arrival in Mumbai.

Moreover, players would have to undergo three to five days of quarantine before entering their respective bubbles.

In isolation, participants would undergo in-room RT-PCR testing three times - first on day one, second on day three, and the

final one on day five.

In case of a three-day quarantine, the participants would get tested every day, and if all the three results are negative, they would be permitted to exit quarantine and commence team activities.

It is also understood that all participants/personnel associated with the conduct of IPL (bubble/ non-bubble) would undergo RTPCR testing every three to five days during the entire length of the tournament.

While ten hotels have been identified in Mumbai, two hotels have been zeroed in for Pune.

It is also learnt that the teams would be reaching the venues for practice or the match venues through a special “green corridor”, and would be allowed to use the Eastern Freeway to go to Navi Mumbai or Thane from south Mumbai. (ESPNcricinfo)

NBA Roundup…

Karl-Anthony Towns, Wolves whip Warriors

17 points, six assists and five rebounds, while Morris chipped in 18 points while shooting 4 of 6 from 3-point range.

The Rockets absorbed their 10th consecutive loss. Jalen Green scored 20 points, Christian Wood tallied 17 points and eight rebounds, and Jae’Sean Tate posted 12 points and nine rebounds.

Wizards 116, Pistons 113

K

arl-Anthony Towns scored 39 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while D’Angelo Russell added 22 points and seven assists and the Minnesota Timberwolves cruised to a 129-114 win over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday in Minneapolis.

The Timberwolves went on a 12-1 run to close the first quarter and take a lead they never relinquished. Minnesota’s advantage swelled to as many as 21 points through a combination of efficient offence and stingy defence.

Minnesota held Golden State to 41-of-90 shooting on the other end, including 13-of-45 from deep. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 34 points, but hit just 5 of 16 three-point attempts.

Golden State’s Damion Lee added 15 points.

Raptors 109, Nets 108

Gary Trent Jr. scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, as Toronto defeated visiting Brooklyn to complete a home-and-home sweep of the Nets.

Scottie Barnes added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who defeated the Nets 133-97 on Monday in New York.

Toronto’s Pascal Siakam had 18 points before fouling out late in

the fourth quarter. Malachi Flynn added 15 points.

James Johnson scored 19 points for Brooklyn. Seth Curry added 18, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Celtics 107, Hawks 98

Boston overcame a 17-point deficit in the first half to defeat visiting Atlanta.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 33 points on 12-for-25 shooting, to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists. The Celtics held a 56-33 scoring edge in the second half.

Atlanta’s Trae Young scored 31 points, but shot just 2 of 7 from the 3-point arc, and was held to nine points in the second half.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 15 of his 25 after halftime.

Clippers 113, Rockets 100

Ivica Zubac recorded his 18th double-double of the season, while Marcus Morris Sr and Reggie Jackson combined for 35 points, as visiting Los Angeles completed a three-game season series sweep of Houston.

Zubac paired 22 points with 12 rebounds to lead the Clippers to their sixth win in seven games -- with the past two coming against the Rockets. Jackson had

Kyle Kuzma collected 21 points and nine rebounds to fuel host Washington to a victory over Detroit.

Thomas Bryant had 16 points off the bench, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 15 for the Wizards, who had eight players score in double figures.

Washington shot 50 percent from both the floor (41 of 82) and 3-point range (13 of 26) en route to snapping a modest two-game losing skid.

Jerami Grant led Detroit with 26 points, highlighted by a 3-for5 performance from 3-point range. Rookie Cade Cunningham contributed 20 points and nine rebounds, and Saddiq Bey added 19 points and seven boards.

Mavericks 109, Lakers 104

Luka Doncic recorded 25 points and eight rebounds, and Jalen Brunson added 22 points as visiting Dallas notched a victory over slumping Los Angeles.

Dorian Finney-Smith contributed 16 points and nine rebounds, and Spencer Dinwiddie had 14 points and nine assists as the Mavericks won for the eighth time in their past 10 games, and 21st in their past 28.

LeBron James registered 26 points and 12 rebounds, and Carmelo Anthony added 20 points for the Lakers, who have lost 10 of their past 13 games, and 15 of 21.

(Reuters)

22

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BCB and SAVE host successful social seminar for youths

T

The youth cricketers posing with their certificates and their presenters

Regional Chairman David Armogan declaring the seminar open

he Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) last Saturday hosted a very successful one-day social seminar with the NGO SAVE. The seminar was held at the Albion Community Centre Ground, and saw the attendance of close to 75 youths drawn from clubs across the county.

The seminar was declared

Violence Eradication (SAVE) NGO for collaborating to host the much-needed programme.

Armogan also congratulated the BCB on the outstanding work it has been doing. He said he is confident that the seminar would achieve its objectives on educating the youths on the topics: anti- suicide, domestic violence, and mental

open by BCB President Hilbert Foster, who welcomed the players and urged them to learn as much as possible on the topics that would be discussed, as the board was determined that they develop into role models and sports ambassadors for the ancient county.

Foster also spoke on the need for cricketers to develop

a regimen of hard work, discipline and dedication, and stated that the board, during 2022, would be investing heavily in programmes and coaching clinics that would assist cricketers to develop on and off the cricket field.

Region Six Chairman David Armogan congratulated the BCB and the Suicide and

health.

Head of SAVE, Nazim Hussain, congratulated the BCB for accepting his offer to hold the seminar, and for properly organising it within one week. He committed the NGO to working along with the proactive BCB to host more programmes in the future for more youths.

The day’s event saw presentations by Hussain, Phillip Drayton, Zipporah Joseph and Dr Vishalya Sharma. Dr Sharma, head of the health sector in Region Six, took the opportunity to express thanks to the BCB and SAVE for joining hands to educate youths on the wide array of topics.

BCB Public Relations Officer Jonathan Rampersaud disclosed that the board is currently working on an updated edition of its youth information booklet. This booklet would be distributed free of cost to all youth players in the county. It covers topics such as public speaking, manners for a public ceremony, suicide, danger of illegal drugs, table manners, how to do a job interview, personal hygiene, importance of education, and the role of a sports ambassador.

”BCB cricket should be for Berbicians” Potaro Strikers are Bartica -clubs tell BCB President at special meeting Mash Football Cup Champions …MP Jaferally Trust Fund launched for West Berbice …Marslowe encouraged by display of football out of Bartica R Potaro Strikers finished with a clean sheet in kicks from the spot, while Rivers View missed one, and had to settle for second place.

In an interview with this publication, BFA President Alden Marslwe was asked for his view on the level of competition, and this is how he responded, “This competition, though it was short, has served to awaken a lot of interest in the sport in our commu-

gins.

“We certainly must acknowledge our partners who came on board to help make this tournament a success.

For a long time, we have not had that kind of engagement, mainly because the sport was at a standstill. But going forward, we expect to foster more partnerships with the business community.

“We look directly now to the Easter Season and Regatta

P

BFA President Alden Marslowe

otaro Strikers and Rivers View went hard at each other in the Bartica Mash Football Cup championship game on Saturday night at the Bartica Community Centre Ground, but following a 2-2 draw in extra time, the “Strikers” carried away the spoils after the eventual shootout from the penalty spot.

The fast-paced match was interesting in its continual change of fortune for one team or the other all night. Potaro opened the scoring, before Rivers View answered with

two of their own goals off the boots of Andrew Simmons. But and eventual infringement in the Potaro box accounted for the second equaliser via clinical penalty finish by Keron Spencer.

The victorious Potaro Strikers

nity, among players, fans and hopefully business partners.

The display on the field has

been very encouraging, especially in that final. We watched a very enthralling final between two talented teams, and it could have gone either way, but Potaro Strikers gained the edge by the narrowest of mar-

Football.”

Marslowe also related the BFA would continue to promote short tournaments and invitationals as they patiently await word to proceed with the resumption of league football.

He explained that the BFA is dedicated to seeing its clubs continue to be competitive, and reiterated that all of the matches were great.

However, he lamented that one outstanding positive that came out of the tournament is the reality of “seeing our newest member, A.K Galaxy, reach the semi-final stage, and eventually come in fourth place”. In the third-place match, Lazio overcame AK Galaxy one goal to nil.

The tournament was promoted by Kenswell LaRose and Ted Martins, with support from the Bartica Football Association.

epresentatives of cricket clubs in Berbice on Sunday declared that they prefer cricket organised by their proactive board be for Berbicians only when the Berbice Cricket Board season begins.

This message was communicated to BCB President Hilbert Foster and Chairman of the Competition Committee Leslie Soloman during a special face the club meeting at the Albion Community Centre.

The meeting was a continuation of the BCB’s effort to meet with stakeholders on a regular basis to consult on major decisions concerning the development of the game. The BCB President has held over 50 such meetings across the county over the last four years as part of a comprehensive consulting programme with subassociations, clubs and other stakeholders.

At the start of the meeting, the BCB President said his administration had agreed to relax the rule concerning allowing non-Berbicians to play in BCB-organised tournaments. The board had proposed to allow clubs to register two non-Berbicians per season, with one being allowed to play per match.

Clubs, however, have expressed their disapproval of such a move, as they feel it would affect local players.

The clubs and the BCB top brass agreed on a wide range of points, including rules for walkovers, COVID-19 guidelines, registration of players, and penalties for clubs who fail to follow rules.

The BCB President also used the opportunity to inform the clubs on upcoming tournaments, developmental plans for 2022, and areas of assistance for them. Clubs would shortly benefit from donations of cricket balls and scorebooks, while dozens of youths would receive cricket gear under

Faizal Jaferally handing over sponsorship to Leslie Soloman in the presence of BCB President Hilbert Foster and representatives of clubs in West Berbice

the BCB developmental programme.

The BCB’s countywide coaching programme was also discussed, with the board announcing upcoming visits by Sir Andy Roberts and Roland Butcher for a cricketing clinic in April. The clubs were also informed of upcoming cricket tournaments at the under-17, under-19, female, second division and first division levels.

The first division tournaments that would start shortly would be the Ivan Madray 20/20 tournament and the Tenelec Inc 50 overs.

Internal tournaments would also be played in West Berbice, Lower Corentyne, New Amsterdam/Canje, and Upper Corentyne.

Meanwhile, during the meeting, the BCB and Government Member of Parliament Faizal Jafferally launched the second edition of the Jaferally 20/20 tournament for teams in West Berbice, and a developmental fund for the area. The popular Member of Parliament handed over five hundred thousand dollars to the BCB, with half of the amount to be used for each project. Clubs in the area would each receive a box of cricket balls and a pair of wicket-keeping gloves under the MP Jaferally Developmental Programme, while at least twelve teams would play in the

20/20 tournament from this weekend.

In brief remarks, Jafferally said that as long as Foster remains the head of the board, he would support the game, as Foster leads a very accountable, visionary and transparent administration which has transformed the game in the county. He pledged continued support, and even hinted that the developmental project could be expanded in the future.

The Member of Parliament has also assisted the BCB to obtain several cricket sponsorships in the area for 2022 at the under-15, under-23 and second division levels.

Foster, who described Jaferally as a personal friend, hailed his contribution to the game, and stated that the Member of Parliament is one of the main reasons his presidency is a success.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

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23

CONCACAF Women’s Championships…

Guyana suffer 2nd 5-0 defeat, but still through to knockout round I

n a must-win-or-draw game, Guyana’s under-20 women’s team, the U20 Lady Jags, buckled under the pressure of high expectations and went down by another 5-0 margin, this time to their counterparts from Panama.

For the encounter against Panama, held at the Olympico Felix Sanchez Stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominica Republic, Head Coach Paul DeAbreu opted for a starting Xl which included Goalkeeper Arden La Rose, who missed out on the second Group F game against Mexico; Jessica Myers, Hasha Holder, Jenea Knight, Shamva Daniels, Dilane Makarawski, Inari Moore, Kiana Khedoo, Valentina Khan and Audrey Narine. Taking the reins as Captain was Samantha Banfield.

The must-win match for Guyana became a nightmare almost immediately when

a gentle connection with the ball from Hasha Holder during a Panama set piece resulted in an own goal in the 2nd minute of the game.

The lead was soon ex-

tended to 2-0 by Panama’s Hilary Jaén in the 8th minute. With another shot coming in from the corner, Jaén got boot on ball after a few passes in front of the goal and sank the goal.

In fact, most of Panama’s

goals came by way of set pieces from the corners. The third began in similar fashion, but this time around, Shayari Camarena was perfectly positioned to redirect the ball with a header in the 40th.

Just before the half ended, Guyana glimpsed their first real chance of adding their name to the scoresheet, but Samantha Banfield’s free kick try was inches away from finding itself in goal, hitting the cross bar instead.

Panama did not let up in the second segment, but continued to back Guyana into a corner.

Elizabeth Vásquez, in the 54th, reminded Guyana of what they were dealing with, as she added another to the tally. Vásquez couldn’t be kept out of the game’s excitement, and was back soon enough, on this occasion with assistance for Camarena, and they waved through

Guyana’s defense on their way to Panama’s fifth goal.

Camerena’s shot went off the crossbar, but unlike Banfield’s try, the ball ricocheted into the goal.

In spite of Guyana’s dismal performance in the last

two group games, the Lady Jags will live to play another day, after finishing third in their group. Mexico’s victory over Honduras on Wednesday night ensured that Guyana would remain at third in the group, behind

Mexico and Panama.

With the top three teams from each group progressing, four teams from last year’s qualifiers would join the Championships for the straight knockout Round of 16. (Jemima Holmes)

Guyana secures spot Coach Crandon hoping to see improved mindset from Guyana Harpy Eagles for 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games

By Brandon Corlette

G

uyana National men’s and Women’s Table Tennis Teams have secure qualification spots for the 2022 Birmingham commonwealth games. In a significant feat which was communicated by the ITTF and Commonwealth games association to GOA president Juman Yassin, the Guyana men’s and women’s national table tennis team have been rewarded for consistent performance over the period 2018 to 2020.

With three team spots available for the Caribbean region the Caribbean championships Guyana having been selected leaves only two team spots available to form part of the sixteen teams to qualify for the commonwealth team competition.

This elaborate qualification system instituted by the Commonwealth games federation and the ITTF. This qualification model seeks to reward teams that have had consistent performance over period is geared towards ensuring continental representation and offers different paths through world rank, regional qualification, individual and doubles and host country qualification.

The squad will consist of 4 male players and 4 female players in each team players who will play doubles and singles competition at the games Table tennis Guyana has been a consistent performer at the commonwealth games after team made its debut in the 2006 edition of the games held in Melbourne Australia, 2010 edition of the Delhi India games, 2014 Glasgow games and the 2018 edition in Gold Coast.

GTTA President Godfrey Munroe commented, “With the covid pandemic the decision was made to limit the number of teams moving forward.

So for qualification, participation at the games will become a key f e a ture. This announcement is significant since it comes on the backs of the of both men and women team performances in international competition for 2018 to 2021 period.”

The games will be held inBirmingham England from July 28 to August GTTA President 8 2022.

Godfrey Munroe

G

uyana Harpy Eagles suffered one defeat and recorded one win after two rounds in the West Indies Regional Four-Day Championships. The tournament will resume in May with the final three rounds, but the Guyana Harpy Eagles have resumed training.

Head Coach Esuan Crandon has said he is hoping to see a change of attitude in contrast to a change in personnel. During a recent interview with this daily publication, Crandon also said he is hoping to see batsmen convert starts and score centuries.

“If any changes, I want to see change of attitude! I am looking from that perspective, I am not looking at personnel at the moment, I am looking for a mindset shift, you want the guys to inculcate the right attitude, the right temperament for Four-Day cricket, you want them to be a bit more hungry, and more determined and disciplined. I am looking forward to seeing that before we recommence in May,” Crandon has said.

Speaking about the positives from the Harpy Eagles season, Crandon said: “From a positive side, we won our first game. It was very close, the guys fought hard at the end. Permaul and Smith’s partnership at the end took us over the line. Not too many positives. I thought Keemo Paul bowled real-

ly well, Permaul and Motie would have done well, the track did not really assist them a great deal, I thought they were patient at times and put the ball in good areas.”

The Guyana Harpy Eagles’ batting has been poor. Vishaul Singh is the leading batsman with 143 runs. He has a high-score of 93, and averages 35.75. Anthony Bramble has 129 runs, and Chandrapaul

Head Coach Esuan Crandon

turies. Ideally, I would have wanted him to go and score a big century. Vishaul Singh scored 90-odd, Paul had a decent all-round game in the first match. Not too many positives to take from

Vishaul Singh is the leading batsman with 143 runs

H e m r a j has 124 runs.

Coach Crandon noted that there was not a lot of bright sparks in the batting department.

“Hemraj scored two half-cen-

t h a t , apart from the ones I would have mentioned.

“I thought we did not stick to our plans really well. We were not disciplined to bat out four sessions like we would have wanted to bat minimum, and the results did not go our way because we were not dis-

ciplined enough as a batting group to bat long and spend a lot of time at the crease.”

As the preparation continues, the Harpy Eagles are focused on developing the mental aspect of the game. “The focus is to see how best we can develop the players skills-set.

To see how we can help them think better, strengthen their mental skill-set to see how they can think and focus for longer periods, and obviously cover all the ground. We do not want to leave any stone unturned, we want to continue to put in the good quality work for the next four to six weeks, so a lot of focus will be on developing the skills and also on the mental aspect of things,” Crandon explained.

Defending champions Barbados Pride are table leaders with 42 points, while Trinidad and Tobago Red Force are on 38.6 points.

Both of these teams have won both of their matches.

Leeward Islands Hurricanes are in third position with 24.6 points, with one win and a defeat; while Guyana Harpy Eagles are in fourth with 21.4 points, with one win and a defeat.

Windward Islands Volcanoes are in fifth with 10.8 points, and Jamaica Scorpions are in sixth with 8.8 points.

Both of these

teams are yet to register a win.

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022

Sport is no longer our game, it’s our business

Coach Crandon hoping to see improved mindset from Guyana Harpy Eagles Page 23

CONCACAF Women’s Championships…

Guyana suffer 2nd 5-0 defeat, but still through to knockout round Page 23

Guyana secures spot for 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games See story on page 23

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